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Coronal and sagittal suture lengths as novel measurements for sex identification in a sample from the Egyptian population

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Abstract

Sex estimation from isolated or fragmented bones is a cornerstone in medicolegal identification. The current study aimed to estimate sex from the lengths of the coronal and sagittal sutures in a sample of Egyptians. The study was performed on a total of 80 adult cadavers (48 males and 32 females) during a routine autopsy. After exposure of the skull vault, the lengths of the coronal and sagittal sutures were measured using a thread and a graduated scale. The mean length of the coronal suture was significantly higher in males (24.8 ± 1.4 cm) than in females (22.7 ± 1.4 cm). The mean length of the sagittal suture was significantly higher in males (11.9±1.6 cm) than in females (10.8±1.6 cm). This study used the lengths of the coronal and sagittal sutures as measurements for sex estimation for the first time. Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve analysis revealed that the combined coronal and sagittal sutures lengths were the best sex discriminator (AUC= 0.859), followed by the coronal suture length (AUC= 0.855), and sagittal suture length (AUC= 0.697). Moreover, regression analysis was performed for sex determination; the highest accuracy was obtained by an equation that included the lengths of the coronal and sagittal sutures together (76%); followed by the coronal suture length (75%); then the sagittal suture length (71%). These measurements are easily obtained during a conventional autopsy and this method of sex estimation is cost effective when compared to radiological and DNA analysis. Moreover, the measurements can be carried out on dry skulls as long as the vault has identifiable landmarks.

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Abbreviations

AUC:

Area under the curve

B:

Bregma

BLL:

Bregma-lambda length

CSL:

Coronal suture length

EFMA:

Egyptian Forensic Medicine Authority

GCP:

Good Clinical Practice

ICH:

International Council for Harmonisation

L:

Lambda

P:

Pterion

ROC:

Receiver operator characteristic

SSL:

Sagittal suture length

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Acknowledgements

The authors express their deep gratitude to Professor Dr. Asmaa El-Banna and Professor Dr. Haidy Megahed for their enthusiastic encouragement and useful critiques of this research work.

Funding

Dr. Zahraa Khalifa Sobh and Dr. Ashraf Magdy Gheat declare that there is NO funding for this research. This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Forensic Medicine and Clinical Toxicology Department, Faculty of Medicine, University of Alexandria, Alexandria, Egypt

    Zahraa Khalifa Sobh

  2. Forensic Medicine Department, Egyptian Forensic Medicine Authority, Ministry of Justice, Alexandria, Egypt

    Ashraf Magdy Gheat

Authors
  1. Zahraa Khalifa Sobh
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  2. Ashraf Magdy Gheat
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Contributions

Dr. Zahraa Khalifa Sobh contributioned to the conception, design of the work, analysis, interpretation of data and drafted the work. Dr. Ashraf Magdy Gheat conducted the practical part of the work and revised the drafted manuscript.

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Correspondence to Zahraa Khalifa Sobh.

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Competing interests

Dr. Zahraa Khalifa Sobh and Dr. Ashraf Magdy Gheat declare that they have NO competing interests.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Approval was obtained from the Research Ethics Committee of Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University (IRB NO: 00012098, FWA NO: 00018699, Serial protocol NO: 0304640).

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The Ethics Committee is constituted and operates according to ICH GCP Guidelines and applicable local and institutional regulations and guidelines which govern ethics committees operation.

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Not applicable as the research did not include any individual person’s data in any form.

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Sobh, Z.K., Gheat, A.M. Coronal and sagittal suture lengths as novel measurements for sex identification in a sample from the Egyptian population. Forensic Sci Med Pathol 17, 19–26 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12024-020-00348-8

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