Sex determination from the second cervical vertebra: a test of Wescott's method on a modern American sample

Journal of Forensic Sciences
Jonathan D Bethard, Billie L Seet

Abstract

Numerous methods for establishing a biological profile exist; however, many of these methods rely on the recovery of several specific bones or on fragile skeletal elements that are sometimes irrecoverable. It is for this reason new methods utilizing other previously under-documented bones should be established and tested by the forensic anthropological community. This study tests the accuracy of Wescott's (J Forensic Sci 2000;45(2)) method for determining sex from the second cervical vertebra. Specimens were drawn from the donated skeletal collection curated at the Hamilton County Forensic Center (n = 57) and the William M. Bass Donated Skeletal Collection (n = 243). Both intra- and inter-observer error rates were low and accurate classifications ranged from 78% (females-Function 1) to 90.6% (males-Function 5). Of the five functions, Function 4 achieved the highest overall accuracy, with 260 individuals (86.7%) falling into the correct category. Overall, this method is an effective classificatory tool for sex estimation.

References

Jun 1, 1995·American Journal of Physical Anthropology·E A Marino
Jul 9, 2004·Forensic Science International : Synergy·Travis Rayne Pickering, Kristian J Carlson
Aug 20, 2008·American Journal of Physical Anthropology·Elizabeth A DiGangiLyle W Konigsberg
Aug 26, 2010·Journal of Forensic Sciences·Emily J Marlow, Robert F Pastor
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Jan 8, 2011·Journal of Forensic Sciences·M Katherine Spradley, Richard L Jantz
Jun 8, 2011·Journal of Forensic Sciences·Megan K Moore, Eric Schaefer

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Citations

Mar 13, 2014·Journal of Forensic Sciences·Néstor A Perlaza
Sep 2, 2014·American Journal of Physical Anthropology·Markus BastirDaniel García Martínez
Sep 13, 2014·International Journal of Legal Medicine·Inês GamaEugénia Cunha
Nov 11, 2014·Journal of Forensic Sciences·Kelly R Ostrofsky, Steven E Churchill
Sep 18, 2020·International Journal of Legal Medicine·Nefeli GaroufiChiara Villa
Mar 29, 2020·Forensic Science, Medicine, and Pathology·Alba Azofra-Monge, Inmaculada Alemán Aguilera
Feb 6, 2021·International Journal of Legal Medicine·Oguzhan EkizogluSilke Grabherr
Dec 10, 2019·Forensic Science International : Synergy·Andrew S RozendaalSusan Meek
Jun 29, 2021·Journal of Forensic Sciences·Stephanie Hartley, Allysha Powanda Winburn

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