Femoral Head Vertical Diameter
Definition
The superoinferior diameter of the femoral head, the most reliable single postcranial sex estimation measurement. US cut-offs (Stewart 1979): below 43.5 mm female, above 47.5 mm male, between 43.5-47.5 mm indeterminate. Indian populations: approximately 2-4 mm smaller on average; adjust cut-offs accordingly.
- Measurement
- Superoinferior diameter of the femoral head
- US female cutoff
- Below 43.5 mm
- US male cutoff
- Above 47.5 mm
- Indeterminate range
- 43.5 to 47.5 mm
- Population note
- Indian samples run roughly 2 to 4 mm smaller
Common questions
Why is this measurement considered the most reliable single postcranial sex indicator?+
The femoral head bears body weight and its size tracks overall skeletal size and build, so it separates male and female distributions more cleanly than most single long-bone measurements, though accuracy still improves when combined with pelvic traits.
Does the Stewart cutoff apply directly to all populations?+
No. The 43.5/47.5 mm thresholds were derived from a US reference sample, so population-specific studies, including Indian data showing values roughly 2 to 4 mm smaller, require adjusted cutoffs before use in casework.
Related terms
- Amelogenin
- A gene on both the X and Y chromosomes used for sex determination in forensic STR kits. The X-allele amplicon is approximately...
- Discriminant Function Analysis
- A multivariate statistical technique that derives linear combinations of measurements to maximally separate two or more groups (male and female). The resulting...
- Geometric Morphometrics
- A method that captures biological shape as a configuration of landmark coordinates, removes position/orientation/scale differences by Procrustes superimposition, and analyses the residual...
- Humeral Head Vertical Diameter
- The superoinferior diameter of the humeral head. US cut-offs (France 1998): below 43 mm female, above 47 mm male. Second most commonly...
- Khanpetch 2012
- A South-East Asian long-bone sex estimation study by Khanpetch and colleagues providing population-specific discriminant functions and cut-offs for Thai and South-East Asian...
- Procrustes Superimposition
- The statistical procedure in geometric morphometrics that removes non-shape variation (translation, rotation, scale) from a set of landmark coordinates, leaving only shape...
- Scapular Glenoid Breadth
- The anteroposterior or superoinferior diameter of the glenoid fossa on the scapula. Sexually dimorphic; discriminant functions by Dittrick and Suchey (1986) achieve...
- Stewart 1979 Cut-Offs
- The original US femoral head diameter sex classification thresholds derived by T.D. Stewart from a US military and dissection-room sample. Widely cited...
- Sub-Adult Sex Problem
- The inability of classical morphological and metric osteological methods to determine sex in individuals below approximately 12-15 years of age, because skeletal...