Anthropometric Study of Human Hip Bones of Southern Brazilians by Rabbi Method

Forensic anthropology is a branch of forensic sciences that deals with research and aims to determine the identity of an individual by means of the origin of remains, general patterns of identification and individualizing characteristics. Currently, as Brazil has a significant percentage of homicides, serious accidents and natural disasters, it is necessary to use more precise anthropometric techniques to search for victim identification. Therefore, this study proposes to measure human hip bones using bone anthropometry technique, more specifically pelvimetry in order to determine standard measures for this bone for people of the south region of Minas Gerais. The measures obtained were as follows: VDA data was 49.74 ± 3.49 for right hip bone (RHB) and 51.06 for left hip bone (LHB). GSND data was 33.18 ± 3.08 for RHB and 32.96 ± 3.35 for LHB. Regarding CGSN measure, the values were 81.23 ± 6.74 for RHB and 82.87 ± 6.77 for LHB. DASIS results were 114.1 ± 6.62 for RHB and 112.4 ± 5.90 for LHB. OFD measures were 45.95 ± 4.21 for RHB and 47 ± 3.98 for LHB while OFL data were 31.34 ± 3.56 for RHB 30.42 ± 2.82 for LHB. From the results above, one could conclude that there were significant differences in the measure of the hip bone when compared with data Brazilian Journal of Forensic Sciences, Medical Law and Bioethics 9(3):356-365 (2020) 357 M. O. Romão et al. published for other ethnic groups. It is suggested that such differences may be related to the multiple genetic miscegenation that occurred in this region of Brazil during 500 years or more after colonization.


Introduction
In a report published in 2015 by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction Natural mass disasters with great casualty have always existed but nowadays they seem to become more frequent, perhaps due to human action. Only in 2018, natural disasters killed 4,996 people worldwide 2 . In January, 2019, Brazil underwent one of its greatest environmental disasters in history, at Brumadinho's mining tailings dam, in Minas Gerais. This dam fell down and its rupture resulted in 255 deaths and several missing so far 3 .
The forensic identification of victims of mass disasters is essential for reasons not only humanitarian, but also due to the need of civil and / or criminal investigation, and is essentially based on anatomy and pathology [4][5][6] . In cases such as those mentioned above, the identification of remains is of paramount importance and it is up to the criminal expert specialized in physical and / or forensic anthropology to unveil the findings 7-9 .
For Souza and Soares (2019), forensic anthropology has been acclaimed worldwide by the numberless advantages offered by its methods, such as performing easiness and simple equipment required for its use. In Brazil, there is a lack of data from forensic anthropology; unfortunately, when such analyses are performed, it becomes necessary to use comparative data generated in American, European or Asian populations that have little miscegenation or a miscegenation degree different from the Brazilian one, which may produce incorrect data and almost always prevent or make identification difficult.
According to Kimmerle, Ross and Slice (2008), one of the four pillars of the anthropological protocol is the estimation of sex, which consists of a metric analysis and visual evaluation of the characteristics of the skeleton, mainly of the skull and pelvis. Hence, the more measures and data observed in a report, the more reliable the result will be 11 .
When the victims' corpses or human remains are no longer identifiable by their external features or fingerprints, forensic anthropologists begin the identification work.
They must participate in the recovery of remains, establish them as being human or animal, and work in the identification of victims of homicides, suicides, wars and mass disasters 12,13 .
Thus, bone anthropometric analysis allows essential conclusions about the victim's identity, in a quick, reliable and accurate way, besides using an inexpensive and affordable instrument 14,15 . However, the methodology must be validated for different populations, due to ethnic differences, which are directly related to the individual's phenotype 15 .
According to Barreto Filho (2002) and Iscan (2005), anthropometric studies should be directed to specific populations. Mainly due to the different ethnic elements found in each region of the world, the identification methods in forensic anthropology should be regionalized 16,17 . And according to Meindl et al. (1985), previous studies should be carried out in determined populations 18 .
Therefore, it is of utmost importance to expand knowledge about anatomical variations in Brazilian population. Only after this is achieved, it will be possible to test the existing methods to assess the biological profile and eventually develop new approaches or, at least, adapt existing methods to Brazilian reality.
By using the Rabbi method, this study aimed to measure specific parameters of human hip bones, found in the south region of Minas Gerais, in order to contribute to the elaboration of an osteometric table for them and, in addition, to compare these measures with data from other ethnic groups already published in the scientific literature. Bone measurements were made by a single evaluator who performed two (2) repetitions and from these an average was taken; these repetitions had an interval of fifteen (15) days between one measurement and another.

Material and methods
The analysis was based on the Rabbi Method (2000) 19 and the measures taken from the hip bones were compared with standard measures available in the scientific literature. The parameters were obtained by a digital caliper and, when necessary, a millimeter ruler, and they were as follows (Figures 1 and 2): • Vertical diameter of the acetabulum (VDA).
• Distance from the anterior superior iliac spine to the pubic tubercle (DASIS).

Results
For clear visualization of the obtained data, the values of each measure were depicted in Table 1 and Figure 2. In Table 1, it is possible to observe all maximum, minimum and average value in millimeters (mm), standard deviation and standard error of mean of each measured parameter of both right and left hip bones, which gives reliability to the data. None of the data obtained in this study showed significant differences between the right and left sides. The findings are also represented in Figure 3, which shows the maximum and minimum values in millimeters (mm) on the vertical axis, and all parameters measured on the horizontal axis.

Conclusion
Taking into account the results obtained in this study, it is possible to conclude that the analysis, it is suggested that such differences may be directly linked to the extensive inherent miscegenation of Brazilians in addition to the continuous process of evolution that is also a factor of anatomical variability.