‘Cervical vertebral metrics’ A reliable approach to forensic identification: A comprehensive review
Background: Sex and stature are the most critical factors to identify an unknown individual. In addition to the skull, pelvis, and other long bones, the vertebral column exhibits significant differences between males and females. It has been shown to have a statistically significant correlation with...
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Elsevier
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Translational Research in Anatomy |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214854X2500010X |
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| author | Shreya Lydia Shobha Andrade Rajagopal K V Vikram Palimar Muhammad Nasir Ahmad Vinod C. Nayak Varun Kumar S G Bhukya Nom Kumar Naik |
| author_facet | Shreya Lydia Shobha Andrade Rajagopal K V Vikram Palimar Muhammad Nasir Ahmad Vinod C. Nayak Varun Kumar S G Bhukya Nom Kumar Naik |
| author_sort | Shreya |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Sex and stature are the most critical factors to identify an unknown individual. In addition to the skull, pelvis, and other long bones, the vertebral column exhibits significant differences between males and females. It has been shown to have a statistically significant correlation with an individual's stature. Among the cervical vertebrae, the axis vertebra shows remarkable sexual dimorphism. Body of the study: A comprehensive literature search was done using PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Scopus between 1995 and 2023. The main inclusion criteria were studies on adult human cervical vertebral measurements from skeletal remains and Computed tomography images. Sixteen studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria from various populations estimating the sex and stature. Conclusion: An extensive review of relevant studies has established that the axis exhibits the highest sexual dimorphism among the cervical vertebrae, followed by the atlas and the C7 vertebra. Regarding the determination of stature from the various cervical metrics, the axis vertebra significantly correlated with stature. This comprehensive study offers valuable insights into the different measurement methods utilizing cervical vertebrae for sex and stature estimation, thereby serving as a pertinent resource for subsequent anthropometric investigations about cervical vertebrae. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ec2e3306b50f429ea6dc9cb34472090f |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2214-854X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Translational Research in Anatomy |
| spelling | doaj-art-ec2e3306b50f429ea6dc9cb34472090f2025-08-20T02:29:20ZengElsevierTranslational Research in Anatomy2214-854X2025-06-013910039110.1016/j.tria.2025.100391‘Cervical vertebral metrics’ A reliable approach to forensic identification: A comprehensive review Shreya0Lydia Shobha Andrade1Rajagopal K V2Vikram Palimar3Muhammad Nasir Ahmad4Vinod C. Nayak5Varun Kumar S G6Bhukya Nom Kumar Naik7Department of Anatomy, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, 576104, IndiaDepartment of Anatomy, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, 576104, India; Corresponding author. Department of Anatomy, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, 576104, India.Department of Radio Diagnosis and Imaging, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, 576104, IndiaDepartment of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, 576104, IndiaDepartment of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Yenepoya Medical College, Yenepoya (deemed to be) University, Mangaluru, IndiaDepartment of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, 576104, IndiaDepartment of Data Science, Prasanna School of Public Health, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, India, 576104Department of Anatomy, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, 576104, IndiaBackground: Sex and stature are the most critical factors to identify an unknown individual. In addition to the skull, pelvis, and other long bones, the vertebral column exhibits significant differences between males and females. It has been shown to have a statistically significant correlation with an individual's stature. Among the cervical vertebrae, the axis vertebra shows remarkable sexual dimorphism. Body of the study: A comprehensive literature search was done using PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Scopus between 1995 and 2023. The main inclusion criteria were studies on adult human cervical vertebral measurements from skeletal remains and Computed tomography images. Sixteen studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria from various populations estimating the sex and stature. Conclusion: An extensive review of relevant studies has established that the axis exhibits the highest sexual dimorphism among the cervical vertebrae, followed by the atlas and the C7 vertebra. Regarding the determination of stature from the various cervical metrics, the axis vertebra significantly correlated with stature. This comprehensive study offers valuable insights into the different measurement methods utilizing cervical vertebrae for sex and stature estimation, thereby serving as a pertinent resource for subsequent anthropometric investigations about cervical vertebrae.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214854X2500010XBody heightCervical vertebraeForensic anthropologyVertebraeSexStature |
| spellingShingle | Shreya Lydia Shobha Andrade Rajagopal K V Vikram Palimar Muhammad Nasir Ahmad Vinod C. Nayak Varun Kumar S G Bhukya Nom Kumar Naik ‘Cervical vertebral metrics’ A reliable approach to forensic identification: A comprehensive review Translational Research in Anatomy Body height Cervical vertebrae Forensic anthropology Vertebrae Sex Stature |
| title | ‘Cervical vertebral metrics’ A reliable approach to forensic identification: A comprehensive review |
| title_full | ‘Cervical vertebral metrics’ A reliable approach to forensic identification: A comprehensive review |
| title_fullStr | ‘Cervical vertebral metrics’ A reliable approach to forensic identification: A comprehensive review |
| title_full_unstemmed | ‘Cervical vertebral metrics’ A reliable approach to forensic identification: A comprehensive review |
| title_short | ‘Cervical vertebral metrics’ A reliable approach to forensic identification: A comprehensive review |
| title_sort | cervical vertebral metrics a reliable approach to forensic identification a comprehensive review |
| topic | Body height Cervical vertebrae Forensic anthropology Vertebrae Sex Stature |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214854X2500010X |
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