Reconstruction of humeral length from measurements of its proximal and distal fragments

ABSTRACT

The aim of the present study was to estimate the length of humeri from measurements of their proximal and distal fragments. This information is important in archaeological studies and forensic investigations, particularly when fragmented material is examined. Forty humerus of adults individuals, sex-aggregated, of the Departamento de Anatomia/UFRJ collection were selected to analysis (right = 20; left = 20). Maximum length and measures of 12 fragments of the humerus (proximal = 7; distal = 5), named P1-P7 and D1-D5, were obtained by means an osteometrical board and an analogical caliper. Simples and multiple linear regressions (p < 0.01) were made to correlate each fragment with total length of the humerus. In right humeri, best estimates were observed with P1, P4, P6, P7 (proximal fragments) and D1, D2, D3, and D4 (distal fragments). In left side, P1, P6 (proximal fragments) and D1, D2, D3 (distal fragments) showed best results. Multiple regressions did not show significant increase in estimates of the humeral length. Regressions formulae were obtained to define these estimative. In conclusion, our study demonstrated that length of the humerus can be estimated from measures of proximal or distal fragments.