Sex estimation from dimensions of the base of the skull in Black South Africans.

The pelvis and the skull are the two most utilised skeletal elements to estimate sex from skeletonised remains due to their sexually dimorphic traits. However, as increasingly more fragmented remains have been presented for analyses, other bones and their fragments have now been subjected to analyses for sex estimation. In the skull particularly, the base has shown to survive harsh conditions. In this study the foramen magnum region was explored in Black South Africans to estimate sex during forensic analyses. Seven measurements of the foramen magnum and surrounding areas were measured in 120 male and female crania and subjected to discriminant function analyses. The average accuracies for the stepwise discriminant functions ranged from 60-71% whilst the average accuracies for the direct discriminant functions ranged from 63-69%. The average accuracies obtained in this study are similar to other studies performed using the foramen magnum. However, these average accuracies are much lower than other skeletal elements that have been used for sex estimation in South Africans. Thus, the equations in this study should be used with caution and only in the absence of more accurate elements. The cranial base has always shown to have a low to moderate expression of sexual dimorphism. The cranial base of Black South Africans is no different.

Forced Disruption of Anatomy Education in Australia and New Zealand: An Acute Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic.

Australian and New Zealand universities commenced a new academic year in February/March 2020 largely with "business as usual." The subsequent Covid-19 pandemic imposed unexpected disruptions to anatomical educational practice. Rapid change occurred due to government-imposed physical distancing regulations from March 2020 that increasingly restricted anatomy laboratory teaching practices. Anatomy educators in both these countries were mobilized to adjust their teaching approaches. This study on anatomy education disruption at pandemic onset within Australia and New Zealand adopts a social constructivist lens. The research question was "What are the perceived disruptions and changes made to anatomy education in Australia and New Zealand during the initial period of the Covid-19 pandemic, as reflected on by anatomy educators?." Thematic analysis to elucidate "the what and why" of anatomy education was applied to these reflections. About 18 anatomy academics from ten institutions participated in this exercise. The analysis revealed loss of integrated "hands-on" experiences, and impacts on workload, traditional roles, students, pedagogy, and anatomists' personal educational philosophies. The key opportunities recognized for anatomy education included: enabling synchronous teaching across remote sites, expanding offerings into the remote learning space, and embracing new pedagogies. In managing anatomy education's transition in response to the pandemic, six critical elements were identified: community care, clear communications, clarified expectations, constructive alignment, community of practice, ability to compromise, and adapt and continuity planning. There is no doubt that anatomy education has stepped into a yet unknown future in the island countries of Australia and New Zealand.

Using a Model to Understand the Symptoms of Ophthalmoplegia.

When the term muscular paralysis is used, most people will think of large muscle groups such as the upper and lower limbs or life-dependent muscles such as the diaphragm. However, the extrinsic extraocular muscles can also succumb to paralysis (whether partial or otherwise). Ophthalmoplegia can arise from a number of neural conditions, and in conjunction with the complex anatomy of the ocular orbit, it can be difficult to teach such syndromes. The range of existing physical models for the eye are limited in their functional ability, prohibiting the understanding of the structure and its function especially with regards to muscles. Only one eye model has been developed which is tangible and functional by design in relation to rotational movements (Williams, 1965). The aim of this study was to ultimately build a modern version of Williams' model and via means of a Likert-type, cross-sectional questionnaire, determine the model's capacity to assist students in learning the function and anatomy of the extrinsic muscles of the eye. This foundational knowledge could then be transferred to better understand the internal causes of the visible symptoms of ophthalmoparesis and ophthalmoplegia. In much the same way that different diagnostic scans are used to observe different bodily materials, functional models may not necessarily replace the range of anatomical resources which exist, but it is hoped that models such as this will instead provide insight into an alternative aspect of anatomical learning which is yet to be considered.

Measurements of the talus in the assessment of population affinity.

As part of their routine work, forensic anthropologists are expected to report population affinity as part of the biological profile of an individual. The skull is the most widely used bone for the estimation of population affinity but it is not always present in a forensic case. Thus, other bones that preserve well have been shown to give a good indication of either the sex or population affinity of an individual. In this study, the potential of measurements of the talus was investigated for the purpose of estimating population affinity in South Africans. Nine measurements from two hundred and twenty tali of South African Africans (SAA) and South African Whites (SAW) from the Raymond A. Dart Collection of Human Skeletons were used. Direct and step-wise discriminant function and logistic regression analyses were carried out using SPSS and SAS. Talar length was the best single variable for discriminating between these two groups for males while in females the head height was the best single predictor. Average accuracies for correct population affinity classification using logistic regression analysis were higher than those obtained from discriminant function analysis. This study was the first of its type to employ discriminant function analyses and logistic regression analyses to estimate the population affinity of an individual from the talus. Thus these equations can now be used by South African anthropologists when estimating the population affinity of dismembered or damaged or incomplete skeletal remains of SAA and SAW.

The history and composition of the Raymond A. Dart Collection of Human Skeletons at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.

The Raymond A. Dart Collection of Human Skeletons (Dart Collection) is housed in the School of Anatomical Sciences at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, and comprises one of the largest documented cadaver-derived human skeletal assemblages in the world. This collection originated in the early 1920s as a result of the efforts of Raymond Dart and continues to grow. The skeletons included represent varied indigenous and immigrant populations from southern Africa, Europe and Asia. This contribution documents the history of the collection and provides an updated inventory and demographic assessment of this valuable research collection. According to a recent inventory the Dart Collection currently comprises 2,605 skeletons representing individuals from regional SA African (76%), White (15%), Coloured (4%) and Indian (0.3%) populations. A large proportion of the skeletons (71%) represent males. The recorded ages at death range from the first year to over 100 years of age, but the majority of individuals died between the ages of 20 and 70. The Dart Collection has been affected by collection procedures based on availability. All of the cadavers collected before 1958, and large proportions subsequently, were derived from unclaimed bodies in regional South African hospitals. Some details of documentation (age at death, population group) are estimates and some aspects of the collection demographics (sex ratios) do not closely reflect any living South African population. Our inventory and analysis of the Dart Collection is aimed to assist researchers planning research on the materials from this collection.

A forensic case study of a naturally mummified brain from the bushveld of South Africa.

The present study reports our observations of a naturally mummified human brain found in the bushveld of South Africa. This case extends the geographic and climatic ranges in which mummified brains have been found, and it represents an additional case where no human activity has led to the mummification. The mummified brain was c. one fifth the size of a normal human brain, while the gyral and sulcal patterns of a typical human brain were clear. CT scanning of the brain revealed that subcortical structures, normally evident in this type of imaging, were not discernable, indicating a slow mummification process. Histological examination of the tissue revealed near complete degradation of the microanatomical structure, with only putative Nissl bodies remaining as identifiable neural microstructures. The specimen appears to have survived several veld fires, as well as a high annual rainfall, and a high relative humidity. It is thought that specific conditions amenable to brain mummification, but not other soft tissues, occurred in the skull of this specimen in the weeks postmortem.

Further evidence to show population specificity of discriminant function equations for sex determination using the talus of South African blacks.

Several studies have shown that osteometric differences exist between different population groups. Thus, discriminant function equations derived for the determination of sex from skeletal elements are population specific. In a previous study, the authors derived such equations from nine measurements of the talus of South African whites with high levels of average accuracies. The validity of some of the equations was tested on data collected from a South African black sample that consisted of 120 tali, equally distributed by sex, derived from the Raymond A. Dart Collection of Human Skeletons. The average accuracies dropped significantly. This necessitated the derivation of new equations for the South African black population and the average accuracies obtained ranged between 80% and 89%. The validity of the equations derived from the present study was tested using the leave-one-out classification and two independent samples (1 and 2). The applicability of the equations with very high classification rate from the present study was tested on Independent sample 1 of 10 white tali with poor results. The result of the validity of these equations on an Independent sample 2 of 10 black tali revealed acceptably high average accuracies in correct classification thereby supporting earlier observations on population specificity of discriminant function equations.