Role of Sacrum in Sexual Dimorphism-A Morphometric Study

The sacrum has always attracted the attention of the medico-legal experts for establishing the sex, because of its contribution to pelvic girdle and associated functional sex differences. The present study was performed to evaluate the reliability of the various parameters of sacrum in this regard. The material for the study comprised of 50 adult sacra (M: F= 40:10), obtained from the Department of Anatomy, Govt. Medical College, Amritsar. Different parameters viz. Midventral straight length, Midventral curved length, Ventral straight breadth, Transverse diameter of base, Transverse diameter of body of S1, Antero-posterior diameter of body of S1, Breadth of alae were measured and indices viz. Sacral index, Longitudinal curvature index and Corporobasal index were calculated and statistically analyzed.

Out of these Midventral straight length, Midventral curved length, Transverse diameter of base, Antero-posterior diameter of body of S1 and Breadth of alae were found to be significantly more in males while Sacral index was significantly more in females. Corporobasal index was found to be more in females though statistically insignificant.