Gender determination from diagnostic factors on anteroposterior pelvic radiographs

Gender determination from skeletal remains is one of the primary factors in forensic medicine. This study aimed to identify the gender of patients referred to the radiology ward of the Rasoul Akram Hospital of Tehran using anteroposterior pelvic radiography.

A total of 200 patients (100 male and 100 female) referred to the radiology ward of the Rasoul Akram Hospital for anteroposterior pelvic radiography during 2013-2014 were included in this study. After taking a standard radiographic image of all patients in the supine position and an anteroposterior view of the pelvis, factors including subpubic angles, pubic angle, X angle, ischiopubic index, ratio of the length of the symphysis pubis to the mid and minimum width of the pubis body, and ratio of the length of the symphysis pubis to the minimum width of the pubic superior ramus were measured on radiographs. The Student t test and receiver operating characteristic curve were used to compare the data of male and female patients. Values were significant at p<0.05.

All the evaluated variables were significantly different in male and female patients (p=0.000), with the highest level of measurement accuracy noted in the subpubic angle, Pubic Angle 1, X angle, Pubic Angle 2, minimum width of the pubic superior ramus, and ischiopubic index. Length of the symphysis pubis, length of the pubis, and ratio of the length of the pubis to the minimum width of the pubic superior ramus showed the lowest accuracy.

The results of this study revealed that the evaluation of the radiographic images of pelvic bones by assessing the mentioned factors can be useful for sex determination from skeletal remains. However, ethical considerations should also be taken into account while using these factors.