Estimation of stature and sex from sacrum and coccyx measurements by multidetector computed tomography in Chinese

•Sacrum and coccyx measurements were analyzed for sex and stature estimation in China.•The stepwise analyses of all measurements are more accurate in sex estimation.•Stature was significantly correlated with the sacrum and coccyx measurements.•Sacrum and coccyx measurements can be utilized for stature estimation. The present study is an attempt to estimation of stature and sex from sacrum and coccyx measurements by multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) in a contemporary Chinese population. Nine measurements for every sacrum and coccyx were taken from CT image of 350 Chinese. The sample is composed of 190 males and 160 females with an average age of 55 and 50 years, respectively. Discriminant function was used in sex estimation and regression analysis was used in stature estimation from these two bones. The stepwise analysis of all measurements yielded a sex classification accuracy rate of 84.9%. The classification accuracy rates of the univariate discriminant function analyses are 58.3%–76.9%. For stature estimation, the accuracy of stature prediction ranged from 4.891 to 6.107 cm for male, from 4.474 to 5.606 cm for female, respectively. This paper provides indications that the sacrum and coccyx are important bones for sex estimation and they could be effectively used as alternatives in forensic cases when the skull and pelvis are unavailable. Furthermore, the regression equations presented in this study may be useful for forensic estimation of the stature of Chinese individuals, particularly in cases where better predictors such as the long bones are not available.