A PRELIMINARY STUDY OF SEXUAL DIMORPHISM OF SCAPULA BY COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY IN THE MALAYSIAN POPULATION

Normaliza Omar; Siti Hanum Mohd Ali; Mohamed Swarhib Shafie; Nik Azuan Nik Ismail; Helmi Hadi; Faridah Mohd Nor

doi:10.22159/ajpcr.2019.v12i1.30233

Authors

Normaliza Omar Forensic Unit, Department of Pathology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre, Jalan Yaacob Latiff, Bandar Tun Razak, 56000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Siti Hanum Mohd Ali Forensic Unit, Department of Pathology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre, Jalan Yaacob Latiff, Bandar Tun Razak, 56000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Mohamed Swarhib Shafie Forensic Unit, Department of Pathology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre, Jalan Yaacob Latiff, Bandar Tun Razak, 56000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Nik Azuan Nik Ismail Department of Radiology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre, Jalan Yaacob Latiff, Bandar Tun Razak, 56000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Helmi Hadi Forensic Unit, School of Health Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 16150 Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, Malaysia.
Faridah Mohd Nor Forensic Unit, Department of Pathology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre, Jalan Yaacob Latiff, Bandar Tun Razak, 56000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22159/ajpcr.2019.v12i1.30233

Keywords:

Forensic, Morphological, Scapula, Sex estimation, Three-dimensional computed tomography

Abstract

Objective: Sex estimation is one of the crucial steps for human identification, which is evident in cases of commingled, eroded, and/or missing remains. When pelvis or skull are unavailable, scapula has been used as an alternative bone for determining sex. Besides, the scapula was shown to be population-specific in several studies. Limited dry bone collections in Malaysia have led to various recommendations of virtual anthropology studies of bone in human identification. The aims of this study were to investigate the sexual dimorphism of the scapula using three-dimensional (3D) computed tomography (CT) imaging and to generate population-specific equations for sex determination in the Malaysian population.

Methods: A total of 66 CT thorax images of 33 males and 33 females were taken. Morphological breadth (MB) and morphological length (ML) on bilateral scapulae were measured on 3D CT reconstructed images. Independent t-test and discriminant function analysis (DFA) were performed for analysis.

Results: Results revealed that both parameters showed sexual dimorphism of scapula but displayed no difference between the right and left scapulae. DFA showed that MB and ML had high accuracy for sex estimation. The equations were highly accurate when both parameters were used in combination, followed by MB only and ML only, in that sequence.

Conclusion: In brief, scapula measurements may be useful for forensic assessment of sex in the Malaysian population.

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