Trotter-Gleser Equations
Definition
The foundational US stature regression equations published by Mildred Trotter and Goldine Gleser in 1952 (from WWII casualties) and revised in 1958 (from Korean War casualties, with corrected femur measurement protocol). The 1958 versions are the operative reference for US White and Black male casework.
- Authors
- Mildred Trotter and Goldine Gleser
- First publication
- 1952, from WWII casualties
- Revision
- 1958, from Korean War casualties
- Key 1958 change
- Corrected femur measurement protocol
- Current use
- Operative reference for US White and Black male casework
Common questions
Why does the corrected femur measurement matter for accuracy?+
The original 1952 femur measurements were later found to be systematically off, which skewed stature estimates for that bone. The 1958 protocol fixed the measurement technique, so equations drawn from the earlier version are now considered less reliable.
Are the Trotter-Gleser equations still used unmodified today?+
They remain the standard reference for the population groups they were derived from, but forensic anthropologists also apply population-specific or more recent regression formulae when the decedent's ancestry falls outside the original 1952/1958 samples.
Related terms
- Age-Related Stature Loss
- The decrease in living stature with age due to intervertebral disc compression and vertebral remodeling, approximately 0.10-0.12 cm per year after age...
- Auerbach-Ruff 2004 Method
- A body-mass estimation method using bi-iliac (maximum pelvic) breadth combined with stature, providing an alternative proxy when the femoral head is absent...
- Crural Index
- The ratio of tibia length to femur length, multiplied by 100. Varies systematically between populations: higher (relatively longer tibia) in tropical populations,...
- Femoral Head Diameter (FHD)
- The superoinferior diameter of the femoral head, measured at the widest point perpendicular to the neck axis. The primary skeletal proxy for...
- Maximum (Anatomical) Femur Length
- The bone length measured from the most superior point of the femoral head to the most inferior point of the femoral condyles...
- Mukherjee-Bandyopadhyay Equations
- Population-specific stature regression equations for Bengali Indian males and females, published in 1955 from cadaveric material at Calcutta Medical College. The male...
- Ruff-Scott-Walker 1997 Method
- The principal body-mass estimation method from skeletal remains, using femoral head diameter (and, in the Auerbach-Ruff 2004 extension, bi-iliac breadth combined with...
- Standard Error of Estimate (SEE)
- The statistical uncertainty around a regression-based stature estimate, representing the range within which approximately 68 per cent of individuals in the derivation...
- Stature Regression Equation
- A mathematical equation derived from a reference skeletal sample with known stature and long-bone measurements, used to estimate living stature from measured...