Reconstruction of the Length of the Humerus from its Fragments

Abstract

Introduction: Intact long bones recovered amongst human skeletal remains, are ideal to reconstruct the stature of unidentified individuals by formulating regression equations. In many forensic situations, long bones are often encountered in different fragmentary states due to decomposition and mutilation. This necessitates the reconstruction of the length of long bone from its fragmentary portions. Method: Standard humeral measurements, the maximum length of the humerus, epicondylar breadth, vertical head diameter, transverse head diameter obtained from 96 humeri belonging to a contemporary Sri Lankan population were analyzed with the aim of generating regression equations to estimate the maximum length of the humerus from the measurements of its fragments. Results: All measurements obtained from those showed a positive correlation with the length of the humerus. The regression models formulated to estimate the maximum humeral length using single variables showed a moderate degree of correlation (0.518-0.669). The vertical diameter of head was the best single variable to predict (r = 0.669, SEE=15.55) the maximum length of the humerus. The multiple regression models formulated using different combinations of variables showed stronger correlations (0.669 to 0.716) with lower error estimates (SEE=14.79– 15.31). Conclusion: The results may contribute to the estimation of the length of the humerus from its fragments, providing valuable information for the purpose of identification of unknown human remains from contemporary Sri Lankan population.