Study on Estimation of Stature of Adult from Clavicle

BACKGROUND: Identification is the process of establishing the identity of the individual. Forensic anthropology plays a key role in the identification process. Apart from determination of age and sex, estimation of stature also assists in the identification process. Stature estimation is especially useful in mass disasters like earthquakes, bomb blasts, etc. In the past, stature has been estimated from different long bones like femur, humerus, tibia, fibula, etc. But there are only few studies on estimation of stature from clavicle. AIM OF THE STUDY: To find out correlation between length of right and left clavicle with stature and to obtain the regression formulae to estimate stature from adult clavicle for both sexes. METHODS: It was a prospective study with a sample size of 200 cases of age > 22 years including males and females from April 2017 – March 2018. The length of right and left clavicles and cadaveric stature was measured from which living stature was derived. RESULTS: The length of right and left clavicle had positive correlation with stature. The right clavicle length proved to be a good predictor of stature while left clavicle length did not prove to be a good predictor of stature in males and females. regression formulae were derived for estimation of stature from right clavicle length in both males and females. CONCLUSION: It has been concluded that stature can be determined using the length of right clavicle in both males and females