A Study on the Asymmetry of the Human Left and Right Pubic Symphyseal Surfaces Using High-Definition Data Capture and...

Area of Science:

• Forensic anthropology
• Bioarchaeology
• Biomedical engineering

Background:

• The pubic symphysis is a key bilateral indicator for estimating age at death.
• Within-individual asymmetry between paired pubic symphyses can introduce errors in age estimation.
• Traditional visual assessment methods may be subjective and influenced by asymmetry.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate and quantify within-individual asymmetry in paired pubic symphyses.
• To evaluate the impact of asymmetry on age estimation using computational methods.
• To determine if one side of the pubic symphysis provides a more accurate age estimate than the other.

Main Methods:

• Utilized 3D laser scans of 88 documented White males' paired pubic symphyses.
• Applied numerical shape algorithms to analyze scan data, offering an alternative to visual assessment.
• Quantified asymmetry and assessed its relationship with age, weight, and stature.

Main Results:

• Computational, shape-based age estimation techniques demonstrated robustness to asymmetry.
• Over 80% of paired differences fell within 10 years, and over 90% within 15 years.
• Significant asymmetry did not correlate with life history factors like advanced age, weight, or stature.

Conclusions:

• Computational methods for age estimation using the pubic symphysis are reliable despite within-individual asymmetry.
• Either the right or left pubic symphysis can be utilized for age-at-death estimation with these computational techniques.
• The findings support the use of objective, shape-based analyses for forensic age estimation.