Metric method for sex determination based on the 12th thoracic vertebra in contemporary north-easterners in China.

Many studies have shown that discriminant function equations, used in the determination of sex from skeletons, are population specific. The aim of the present research was to develop discriminant function equations for sex determination using the 12th thoracic vertebra (T12) in a contemporary northeast Chinese sample and to investigate whether the differences of the T12 between males and females consist more in shape than in size. Thirty linear measurements were obtained from 141 three-dimensional reconstructed T12 models (78 males and 63 females), and then 112 ratios were calculated by using the thirty linear measurements.