Morphological variation in the human scapula related to age & sex

Abstract

This study will observe quantitative morphological changes in the human scapula regarding advancing age and sex. 21 standardized measurements were taken of 266 scapulae at the W.M. Bass Collection in at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. All measurements were expected to vary between males and females, between age groupings: 4 measurements of the body were taken in order to determine general size differences in the scapula, 5 border measurements in order elucidate possible differences in shape, 8 measurements were recoded to identify curvature changes in the scapula, and 2 measurements were taken of the glenoid fossa. Many of these measurements were identified previously as having both sexually distinctive characteristics and some also identified as showing differences with advancing age. While there have been previous studies outlining differences in the scapula regarding both sex and age estimation, population is of great importance and supplementing these studies with another population is of value to the scientific record. Descriptive statistics and an independent samples t-test were utilized. Both statistical tests show significant sex differences between males and females in all categories with exception of one curvature measurement (CILC). Between age groups, this is much the same with one curvature measurements in the younger age group (CILB) and three in the older age group (CILC and CIBC) showing no statistically significant change. Overall the results suggest a larger scapula in males then females, with overall decreases in size with advancing age and increasing border robusticity.