Pelvic Structure?

Question

How can you tell whether skeletal remains of a murder victim are male or female? I believe it is something to do with the pelvic bone, but I am not sure what?

thanks

mac x

p.s. i know it's a weird question, but i'm studying Forensic Anthropology...

Answer 1

From personal experience with casework, I've found that of all the features you use there are a few that really stand out and are usually pretty accurate.  

For the pelvis the single best feature is the ventral arc.  If you look at the ventral face of the pubic symphysis, females will have a distinct ridge of bone that deviates from the edge of the bone while the ridge of males will follow pretty closely along the edge of the bone.  Other good features to look for are how wide the sciatic notch and the subpubic angle are; wider usually indicates a female since the pelvis has to be wider for birth, you can see variation with these two but most of the time they're consistent.

The other indicator for s*x is the skull.  This can be a bit tricky as there is a lot of variation between populations, so you have to mindful of the population you're working with when determining s*x using the skull.  For instance if you looked at Caucasian females and Indian males, they might have some individuals that appeared similar and this is a literal example not something I made up, so just be mindful of what you're working with if you can.  As for the features, the super orbital ridges, mastoid process and nuchal line are usually the best features for determining s*x.  However use as many features as you are able to, it never hurts to know more even if you're already pretty sure you know what s*x the individual is.  

My advice to you is to pick up a great book called Standards: For data collection from human skeletal remains by Jane Buikstra and Doug Ubelaker.  This book will tell you how to collect data from skeletons and give you relevant information about s*x, race, and stature determination.  Another book that you should absolutely own if you're a forensic anthropologist if Human Osteology by William Bass.  You can find some of this information on the Web, but you'll never beat what you can find in those two books.

Answer 2

This is an informative article

http://www.mum.org/souanpel.htm

Answer 3

Easy answer is yes there are diff's.  Female pelvis wider for birthing and if the have given birth there can be circular marks from vit and mineral depleations on the pelvis.  Many other marks on the skeleton can tell you Male/Female.  Several on skull(Brow ridge and mandible thicker on male, male has a pronounced mastoid process(behind ear), male has a 90 degree angle mandible, etc.)  There are many differnt skeletal markers all over the whole skeleton!

Answer 4

"Differences between the Male and Female Pelves.—The female pelvis (Fig. 242) is distinguished from that of the male (Fig. 241) by its bones being more delicate and its depth less. The whole pelvis is less massive, and its muscular impressions are slightly marked. The ilia are less sloped, and the anterior iliac spines more widely separated; hence the greater lateral prominence of the hips. The preauricular sulcus is more commonly present and better marked. The superior aperture of the lesser pelvis is larger in the female than in the male; it is more nearly circular, and its obliquity is greater. The cavity is shallower and wider; the sacrum is shorter wider, and its upper part is less curved; the obturator foramina are triangular in shape and smaller in size than in the male. The inferior aperture is larger and the coccyx more movable. The sciatic notches are wider and shallower, and the spines of the ischia project less inward. The acetabula are smaller and look more distinctly forward (Derry 59). The ischial tuberosities and the acetabula are wider apart, and the former are more everted. The pubic symphysis is less deep, and the pubic arch is wider and more rounded than in the male, where it is an angle rather than an arch."

Some good illustrations:

http://education.yahoo.com/reference/gra...

http://www.buyamag.com/pelvis_model.php