Humeral Head Vertical Diameter
Definition
The superoinferior diameter of the humeral head. US cut-offs (France 1998): below 43 mm female, above 47 mm male. Second most commonly used postcranial sex metric after femoral head diameter.
- Measurement
- Superoinferior diameter of the humeral head
- US female cut-off
- Below 43 mm (France 1998)
- US male cut-off
- Above 47 mm (France 1998)
- Rank
- Second most used postcranial sex metric after femoral head diameter
Common questions
Why use the humeral head when the femoral head is the primary metric?+
The femoral head is not always recoverable or intact, for example in fragmentary or commingled remains, so the humeral head diameter serves as the next most reliable single postcranial measurement when the femur is unavailable or damaged.
Are these cut-off values population specific?+
Yes, the France 1998 thresholds were derived from a particular reference population, so applying them to skeletal remains from a different population without adjustment can reduce classification accuracy, which is a general limitation of single-population metric sexing standards.
Can humeral head diameter alone give a confident sex determination?+
A single metric like this is generally treated as one input into a broader assessment, and forensic anthropologists typically combine it with other postcranial and, where available, cranial measurements to increase classification confidence rather than relying on it in isolation.
Related terms
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- Femoral Head Vertical Diameter
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- Stewart 1979 Cut-Offs
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