title: Sexual dimorphism in the 7th cervical and 12th thoracic vertebrae from a Mediterranean population.
abstract: Sex determination is an important task in physical anthropology and forensic medicine. The study sample comprised 121 individuals of known sex, age, and cause of death from San Jose cemetery in Granada (Spain). Eight dimensions were analyzed, and discriminant function analysis was performed for each vertebra to obtain discriminating functions and study the percentage of correct assignations of these functions. The percentage accuracy was approximately 80% for both vertebrae, but varied according to the sex, being higher for the 7th cervical in males and higher for the 12th thoracic in females. As reported in other populations, the greatest dimorphism values were found for the length of the inferior surface of the vertebral body and the width and length of the vertebral foramen of the 7th cervical vertebra and for the length of the inferior surface of the vertebral body of the 12th thoracic vertebra.
authors.affiliation: Department of Legal Medicine, Toxicology and Physical Anthropology, School of Medicine, University of Granada, Avenida de Madrid 11, Granada, 18012, Spain.
authors.forename: Anabel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Amores
authors.forename: Miguel C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Botella
authors.forename: Inmaculada
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Alemán
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D016002:Discriminant Analysis; D005260:Female; D018732:Forensic Anthropology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D054881:Sex Determination by Skeleton / Q000379:methods*; D013030:Spain; D013904:Thoracic Vertebrae / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D055815:Young Adult; D021801:Zygapophyseal Joint / Q000033:anatomy & histology
keywords: 12th thoracic vertebra; 7th cervical vertebra; discriminant function analysis; forensic anthropology; forensic science; sex determination