Sex discrimination by radiographic measurements of human talus and calcaneus

ABSTRACT

Radiographs on the ankle of 134 Egyptians, 60 females and 74 males, were analyzed for sexual differentiation. Ten measurements were taken on the talus and the calcaneus bones, six metric characters and four angles. The results revealed that all the measured distances but not the angles are larger in males than females. Beta and gamma-angles are larger in males, while alpha-angle is larger in females. The talocalcaneal angle has nearly the same value and range in both sexes. All the observed differences between both sexes are statistically significant except for gamma angle and the maximum height of talus. Multivariant discriminant analysis showed that a discriminant function consisting of four variables can be used to identify the sex. The variables are alpha- and beta- angles, talocalcaneal length and maximum length of talus. The sex of the studied persons was correctly classified in 100% of female samples and 91.9% of males with an overall prediction percentage of 95.5%. It is recommended to use the radiograph analysis of the ankle for identification of sex because it proved to be a simple, reliable, accurate and non-invasive method of study