The accuracy of the anthropometric measurements of knee bones in determination of age and sex in an Egyptian population sample.

Abstract

Identification of age and sex are considered the cornerstone in biological profile determination in forensic anthropology. AIM OF THE STUDY: To establish a comparative evaluation of the accuracy of some knee bone measurements in sex and age discrimination. METHODS: The anthropometric measurements of knee bones were obtained from Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of patients in Kasr Elainy school of medicine. Discriminant function analysis is used for sex discrimination by using three measurements of the patella and three measurements of both distal femur & proximal tibia. RESULTS: Both distal femur & proximal tibia measurements were more accurate for sex differentiation. A six novel cutoff values were obtained by Roc curve for sex identification. Patella anteroposterior length showed a significant negative correlation with age by conducting a novel regression equation for age estimation. CONCLUSION: Measuring the patella and both distal femur & proximal tibia dimensions by the MRI scan can be efficient for sex discrimination with more accuracy in both distal femur & proximal tibia dimensions.