Rogers N L, Flournoy L E, McCormick W F
Department of Anthropology, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville 37996-0720, USA.
J Forensic Sci. 2000 Jan;45(1):61-7.
The costoclavicular (rhomboid) ligament connects the first rib to the clavicle, stabilizing the pectoral girdle. It produces skeletal traits that may be tubercles, roughened impressions, shallow groove-like fossae, deep fossae, or leave no trace. A pit or depression at this site is often called a "rhomboid fossa." While these markings may appear pathological, they are normal variants of the clavicle. Using a large contemporary sample (N = 344:113 females, 231 males), we evaluated the presence of a rhomboid fossa as a sex and age indicator for unidentified skeletal remains. Logistic regression found significant relationships between the presence of a rhomboid fossa and sex and between presence of a rhomboid fossa and age. Fossae were more common in males (36% left, 31% right) than in females (3% left, 8% right). Posterior probabilities suggest that a fossa on the right clavicle is indicative of a male with 81.7% probability; a fossa on the left is indicative of a male with 92.2% probability. Younger individuals more commonly exhibited rhomboid fossae than older individuals, and the largest fossae were most common in males 20-30 years of age. However, the age effect was not conclusive and must be corroborated by other methods. A test of the sex estimation method on an independent sample (26 males, 23 females) found nine males and only one female with fossae present on the left clavicle. When the costoclavicular attachment exhibits an impression, a tubercle, or leaves no trace, this method cannot be used for sex estimation. When a clavicle exhibits a rhomboid fossa, it is likely from a male. The greater difference in fossa expression between the sexes on the left clavicle makes use of the left bone preferable. This technique can corroborate other sex estimates or provide an estimate for unknown individuals in the absence of other skeletal indicators.
肋锁（菱形）韧带连接第一肋和锁骨，稳定胸带。它产生的骨骼特征可能是结节、粗糙的压痕、浅沟状窝、深窝，或者不留下痕迹。这个部位的凹坑或凹陷通常被称为“菱形窝”。虽然这些痕迹可能看起来是病理性的，但它们是锁骨的正常变异。我们使用了一个大型当代样本（N = 344：113名女性，231名男性），评估菱形窝的存在作为未识别骨骼遗骸的性别和年龄指标。逻辑回归发现菱形窝的存在与性别之间以及菱形窝的存在与年龄之间存在显著关系。窝在男性中（左侧36%，右侧31%）比在女性中（左侧3%，右侧8%）更常见。后验概率表明，右侧锁骨上的窝有81.7%的概率指示为男性；左侧的窝有92.2%的概率指示为男性。较年轻的个体比较年长的个体更常出现菱形窝，最大的窝在20至30岁的男性中最常见。然而，年龄效应并不确凿，必须通过其他方法加以证实。在一个独立样本（26名男性，23名女性）上对性别估计方法进行测试发现，左侧锁骨上有窝的有9名男性，只有1名女性。当肋锁附着处呈现压痕、结节或不留下痕迹时，这种方法不能用于性别估计。当锁骨呈现菱形窝时，很可能来自男性。左侧锁骨上两性之间窝的表现差异更大，因此使用左侧骨骼更可取。这项技术可以证实其他性别估计，或者在没有其他骨骼指标的情况下为未知个体提供估计。
