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Evaluation of the morphological characteristic and sex differences of sternum by multi-detector computed tomography
Affiliations- Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Harran University, Şanliurfa, Turkey, Türkiye
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Abstract
Background: Sternum is one of the skeleton parts which have frequently congenital anomalies and variations are commonly used by researchers in determining sex. We evaluated the morphological characteristics and sex-related changes of the sternum in adult individuals using multidetector computed tomography in
our study.
Materials and methods: Two hundred adults (103 female and 97 male) aged between 18 and 87 years were evaluated. Utilising the morphological characteristics of the sternum based on the multislice images; length, width and the thickness of manubrium, length, width and the thickness of corpus sterni, total length of sternum, sternal angle, sternal index (SI), length of the xiphoid process, the thickness of xiphoid process, the number of indents of xiphoid process were measured and a total of 20 parameters were evaluated by adding age, height
and weight to these variables.
Results: The mean length of the manubrium, the length of corpus sterni, the length of total sternum, SI, sternal angle were found in females 46.7 ± 5.1, 86.6 ± 9.7, 133.1 ± 1.1, 54.47 ± 10.0 and 163.75 ± 5.79; in males 51.2 ± 6,102.4 ± 13.3, 154.1 ± 13.1, 50.11 ± 10.02 and 162.21 ± 6.17, respectively. We found that Hyrtl’s Law and SI did not provide adequate accuracy for sex determination in our patients. It has been detected that the length of the manubrium alone is not helpful for individual samples. Total length of the sternum was found to be
more reliable than the length of the manubrium and the length of corpus sterni. We determined sternal cleft and sternal foramen as 0.5% and 3.5%, respectively.
Conclusions: We suggest that the morphometric standards cannot be universally applied and can demonstrate individual differences. The standard rules must be implemented for every population.
Abstract
Background: Sternum is one of the skeleton parts which have frequently congenital anomalies and variations are commonly used by researchers in determining sex. We evaluated the morphological characteristics and sex-related changes of the sternum in adult individuals using multidetector computed tomography in
our study.
Materials and methods: Two hundred adults (103 female and 97 male) aged between 18 and 87 years were evaluated. Utilising the morphological characteristics of the sternum based on the multislice images; length, width and the thickness of manubrium, length, width and the thickness of corpus sterni, total length of sternum, sternal angle, sternal index (SI), length of the xiphoid process, the thickness of xiphoid process, the number of indents of xiphoid process were measured and a total of 20 parameters were evaluated by adding age, height
and weight to these variables.
Results: The mean length of the manubrium, the length of corpus sterni, the length of total sternum, SI, sternal angle were found in females 46.7 ± 5.1, 86.6 ± 9.7, 133.1 ± 1.1, 54.47 ± 10.0 and 163.75 ± 5.79; in males 51.2 ± 6,102.4 ± 13.3, 154.1 ± 13.1, 50.11 ± 10.02 and 162.21 ± 6.17, respectively. We found that Hyrtl’s Law and SI did not provide adequate accuracy for sex determination in our patients. It has been detected that the length of the manubrium alone is not helpful for individual samples. Total length of the sternum was found to be
more reliable than the length of the manubrium and the length of corpus sterni. We determined sternal cleft and sternal foramen as 0.5% and 3.5%, respectively.
Conclusions: We suggest that the morphometric standards cannot be universally applied and can demonstrate individual differences. The standard rules must be implemented for every population.
Keywords
sternum; morphometric analysis; sex; sternal variations; multidetector computed tomography
About this articleTitle
Evaluation of the morphological characteristic and sex differences of sternum by multi-detector computed tomography
Journal
Issue
Article type
Original article
Pages
489-497
Published online
2018-01-08
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2656
Article views/downloads
4317
DOI
Pubmed
Bibliographic record
Folia Morphol 2018;77(3):489-497.
Keywords
sternum
morphometric analysis
sex
sternal variations
multidetector computed tomography
Authors
S. Ateşoğlu
M. Deniz
A. İ. Uslu
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