Sexual dimorphism of the hyoid bone?

Sexual dimorphism in the hyoid bone was investigated and the usefulness of the hyoid bone as an additional sex indicator was assessed. Fifty-nine hyoid bones from human cadavers of known sex and age were examined and 13 measurements were taken directly from the X-ray film. A multivariate approach, based on the set of 13 measurements, was used to predict sex on the basis of a combination of those measurements, brought together in a classification model. Although a number of predictor measurements were univariantly significantly associated, one had such predictive power that the others did not significantly improve the classification model. A model was formulated to include three measurements and it is suggested that the model be tested on independent data sets, since the two other predictors can be measured without additional effort and their borderline insignificance may be due to the small test sample. Metric analysis of the hyoid bone is a helpful technique in the sex determination of a skeleton. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Biology · Human skeleton · Hyoid bone · Metric (unit) · Multivariate analysis · Multivariate statistics · Sexual dimorphism · Skeleton (computer programming) · Statistics · Anatomy · Engineering · Internal Medicine · Mathematics · Medicine · Orthodontics · Restraint-Related Deaths · Urological Disorders and Treatments