The Impact of Clavicle Morphometric and Volumetric Measurements on Sex Determination: An Autopsy Study

The objective of the study was the determination of sex from skeletal remains is of interest in forensic anthropology. The results on the use the clavicle in sex determination have been relatively encouraging. In this study, we aimed to discuss the usefulness of morphometric and volumetric measurements of the clavicular bone for sex determination. The measurements in our study were obtained from autopsies performed in Tokat province. Cases with decomposition and chest trauma were not included in the study. After determining age, height and gender, the maximum length, oblique length, midline circumference, vertical and sagittal diameters, volume and mass of the clavicle on both sides were measured. The study included 43 female and 43 male patients. The mean age was 50.4 years in women and 43.1 years in men. The mean maximum length of the right and left clavicle was 12.5 cm/12.9 cm (right/left) in women and 15.3 cm/15.6 cm in men, the mean measure of inclined length on both sides was 14.5 cm/15.01 cm (right/left) in women and 17.9 cm/18.3 cm in men, the mean length of the midline circumference was 2.26 cm/2.33 cm (right/left) in women and 2.89 cm/2.91 cm in men, the mean vertical diameter distance was 1.0 cm bilaterally in females and 1.2 cm bilaterally in males, mean sagittal diameter distance was 0.85/0.86 cm (right/left) in women and 1.05/1.06 cm (right/left) in males, mean clavicler volume was 18.2/17.8 ml in females (right/left) and 23.3/22.7 ml in males (right/left), mean clavicler mass was 31.93 g/31.48 g in females and 40.66 g/40.14 g in males. The results obtained in this study show that height and age are important predictors in anthropometric analyses. The strong influence of height on the measurements is particularly striking.