Discriminant function analysis of sexual dimorphism in the romanian mandible

Abstract

Although the sexual differences in the human skeleton are considerable, there is population specific anatomic variation resulting from genetics and environment. The purpose of this paper is to assess Romanian sexual dimorphism by discriminant function analysis and to compare the results with those of other Caucasians. The sample is composed of 50 males and 50 females specimens, with known age and sex, belonging to the Francisc; Ramer collection (Bucharest). The individuals of the collection died during 1920 to 1940 in hospitals to where they came from many regions of the country, especially from unprivileged sociocultural milieu. The mean age is 35.57 years for males and 33.20 for females (statistically not significant). A total of seven mandibular dimensions are taken according to the Martin procedure by the senior author. Data are analyzed initially through direct method of discriminant analysis statistic (SPSS). This has provided 86.7% accuracy. When the same dimensions are analyzed with the stepwise procedure, five of them (height of ascending ramus, bigonial breadth, mandibular length, mandibular symphysis height, minimum breadth of ascending ramus) are selected. Classification accuracy has remained the same (86.7%). This suggests that sexual dimorphism is also well pronounced in the country with an accuracy rate as high as other Caucasoid population, such as South African and American whites.