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Cancellous bone use in the estimation of sex in a South African cadaveric and forensic sample

The increasing number of unidentified individuals has become a growing concern worldwide. These individuals, whose identities remain unknown following medico-legal autopsy, present a complex challenge for authorities and communities alike. Forensic anthropology is a valuable tool to assist in the id...

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Main Author: Bosch, Jason
Other Authors: Friedling, Louise
Format: Thesis
Language:Eng
Published: Department of Pathology 2025
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access_status_str Open Access
author Bosch, Jason
author2 Friedling, Louise
author_browse Bosch, Jason
Friedling, Louise
author_facet Friedling, Louise
Bosch, Jason
author_sort Bosch, Jason
collection Thesis
description The increasing number of unidentified individuals has become a growing concern worldwide. These individuals, whose identities remain unknown following medico-legal autopsy, present a complex challenge for authorities and communities alike. Forensic anthropology is a valuable tool to assist in the identification process, however further research is necessary to alleviate the increasing number of unidentified individuals. Imaging techniques such as X-rays and CT scanning have become an avenue in which research into the field of anthropology has expanded. LODOX imaging finds itself in an ideal position due to its widespread availability in most mortuaries in South Africa, primarily used for trauma analysis and identification of foreign objects. The overall aim of the study is to assess radiographic and dry bone measurements of the proximal femur for sex estimation in a South African population. This was done by assessing radiographic and dry bone parameters (e.g., traditional morphometric parameters and assessment of cancellous area and indirect density) for association with sex. Femora (58 males and 32 females) from the University of Cape Town Skeletal Repository were included in the study. Models generated were applied to a forensic cohort. Seventeen of the twenty-four variables included in this study were found to be significantly associated with sex. To determine the best possible model for sex estimation, an all-sub-sets logistic regression was performed. The two best models (model 1: cancellous area; model 2: cancellous area, maximum length and physiological length) that were generated, both showed an 88.2% agreement with previous sex estimates when applying them to a new cohort.
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institution University of Cape Town (South Africa)
language Eng
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:32:51.499Z
license_str Not specified — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
publishDate 2025
publishDateRange 2025
publishDateSort 2025
publisher Department of Pathology
publisherStr Department of Pathology
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source_str UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
spelling oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/41488 Cancellous bone use in the estimation of sex in a South African cadaveric and forensic sample Bosch, Jason Friedling, Louise Mole Calvin Pathology The increasing number of unidentified individuals has become a growing concern worldwide. These individuals, whose identities remain unknown following medico-legal autopsy, present a complex challenge for authorities and communities alike. Forensic anthropology is a valuable tool to assist in the identification process, however further research is necessary to alleviate the increasing number of unidentified individuals. Imaging techniques such as X-rays and CT scanning have become an avenue in which research into the field of anthropology has expanded. LODOX imaging finds itself in an ideal position due to its widespread availability in most mortuaries in South Africa, primarily used for trauma analysis and identification of foreign objects. The overall aim of the study is to assess radiographic and dry bone measurements of the proximal femur for sex estimation in a South African population. This was done by assessing radiographic and dry bone parameters (e.g., traditional morphometric parameters and assessment of cancellous area and indirect density) for association with sex. Femora (58 males and 32 females) from the University of Cape Town Skeletal Repository were included in the study. Models generated were applied to a forensic cohort. Seventeen of the twenty-four variables included in this study were found to be significantly associated with sex. To determine the best possible model for sex estimation, an all-sub-sets logistic regression was performed. The two best models (model 1: cancellous area; model 2: cancellous area, maximum length and physiological length) that were generated, both showed an 88.2% agreement with previous sex estimates when applying them to a new cohort. 2025-06-25T11:51:50Z 2025-06-25T11:51:50Z 2025 2025-06-25T11:46:24Z Thesis / Dissertation Masters MPhil http://hdl.handle.net/11427/41488 Eng application/pdf Department of Pathology Faculty of Health Sciences University of Cape town
spellingShingle Pathology
Bosch, Jason
Cancellous bone use in the estimation of sex in a South African cadaveric and forensic sample
thesis_degree_str Master's
title Cancellous bone use in the estimation of sex in a South African cadaveric and forensic sample
title_full Cancellous bone use in the estimation of sex in a South African cadaveric and forensic sample
title_fullStr Cancellous bone use in the estimation of sex in a South African cadaveric and forensic sample
title_full_unstemmed Cancellous bone use in the estimation of sex in a South African cadaveric and forensic sample
title_short Cancellous bone use in the estimation of sex in a South African cadaveric and forensic sample
title_sort cancellous bone use in the estimation of sex in a south african cadaveric and forensic sample
topic Pathology
url http://hdl.handle.net/11427/41488
work_keys_str_mv AT boschjason cancellousboneuseintheestimationofsexinasouthafricancadavericandforensicsample