Estimation of Femur Length From Its Fragments in an Iranian Population

Abstract

Stature is one of the important variables to identify an individual, and the previous reports show that intact femur has the highest correlation with stature. But the femur is usually damaged in forensic cases. Hence in the present study, the femur length is estimated from proximal and distal femoral fragments in the Iranian population. Sixty-four dry femora (32 from each side) without sex determination were studied. The variables were measured by using the osteometric board and digital vernier caliper. The bones with visible abnormalities were excluded from the study. The measured values were analyzed by SPSS 25 software. The linear regression is used for estimating maximum femur length from the other measurements of femoral fragments. The result of this study showed that the value of segmental measurements was different between the right and left sides, but it was not statistically significant. All segmental measurements were positively correlated and found to have a linear relationship with the maximum femoral length (P<0.05) except for femoral neck circumference, which was not significantly different. The regression equation suggested that the intertrochanteric crest length is the best estimator of maximum femur length. The data of this study showed that the femoral length could be estimated from proximal and distal femoral fragments with the help of a regression equation. Then femoral length can be used to estimate the stature. The result of this study can be used in the analysis of forensic bone remains.