| Abstract [eng] |
Relevance and purpose of the problem. Determining biological sex is a key step in identifying an individual‘s biological profile and is essential in forensic medicine. While modern genetic methods can provide highly accurate results, they are not always applied in practice, since the DNA cannot be always extracted from skeletal remains. In such cases, osteoscopic analysis remains one of the main approaches. Not all skeletal elements are equally informative, which makes it important to evaluate their reliability. The aim of the thesis was to assess the accuracy of biological sex determination based on osteoscopic sexual dimorphism features of the skull and pelvis. Material and methods. 32 skeletal remains were examined. Skull bones were analyzed in 29 cases, pelvic bones in 26 cases, both structures were available for 23 individuals. Sexual dimorphism was evaluated using 40 morphological traits of the skull and 20 traits of the pelvis. Each trait was classified as male, female, non–informative. Statistical analysis was performed using R software, applying Fisher‘s exact test, significance set at p<0.05. After selecting the most statistically significant traits, a combinational analysis was performed using Microsoft Excel. Results. The analysis of pelvic bones showed that 15 out of 20 traits were statistically significant. The most informative traits included the shape of the pelvic inlet, subpubic angle, pubic tubercle, obturator foramen, ischial spine and iliac tuberosity (p<0.001). Skulls traits also demonstrated statistically significant differences between sexes, however, they were less consistent and showed greater variability compared to pelvic traits. Most combined assessments showed complete agreement between pelvic and cranial sex estimations. Conclusions. Pelvic osteoscopic traits provided the most reliable basis for determining biological sex in skeletal remains. Skull traits can serve as useful additional indicators but their diagnostic value is lower. The most accurate results are achieved when multiple traits are evaluated together. |
