Estudio de la transexualidad desde la Clínica Médico Forense de Madrid / A study of transsexuality from Medical Forensic Clinic in Madrid

Introducción: El objetivo de este trabajo es el de comparar los casos de transexualidad peritados en la Clínica Médico Forense de Madrid con los publicados en otras series. Material y métodos: Se trata de un estudio retrospectivo sobre los informes emitidos por médicos forenses adscritos a la Clínica Médico Forense de Madrid, desde el once de enero de 1995 hasta el cuatro de mayo de 2007, recogiendo una serie de datos y realizando un estudio observacional descriptivo y transversal. Resultados: Se han obtenido 52 informes en relación con transexualidad, de los que 29 eran de hombre a mujer (55,76%) y 23 de mujer a hombre (44,23%). Se recoge que la mayoría carecían de alteraciones psicopatológicas (72,4/65,2% hombre/mujer respectivamente), la aparición precoz del sentimiento transexual (86,2/100%), la edad de la cirugía de reasignación (hombres entre 18 y los 41 años de edad; mujeres, entre los 22 y los 43 años de edad), y su proximidad a la solicitud de cambio de inscripción registral. Conclusiones: Destaca la alta incidencia de ausencia de alteraciones psicopatológicas (hemos objetivado estas alteraciones aproximadamente en un tercio de los casos), la precocidad en la aparición del sentimiento transexual y la proximidad entre la cirugía transexual y la solicitud de inscripción registral, condicionado por los requisitos legales del momento. Los resultados obtenidos en nuestro estudio son comparables con otras series, teniendo en cuenta la diferencia de procedimientos empleados

Introduction: The objective of this work is to compare the cases of transsexuality studied in the Forensic Medical Clinic of Madrid with those published in other series. Material and methods: A retrospective, descriptive, cross-sectional, and observational study was carried out by collecting a series of data from the reports issued by forensic doctors attached to the Forensic Medical Clinic of Madrid, from 11 January 1995 to 4 May 2007. Results: A total of 52 reports were obtained in relation to transsexuality, of which 29 were from male to female (55.76%), and 23 from female to male (44.23%). It was noted that the majority lacked psycho-pathological disorders (72.4/65.2% male/female, respectively), the early onset of transsexual sentiment (86.2/100%), the age of re-assignment surgery (male between 18 and 41 years of age; female, between 22 and 43 years old), and its proximity to the application for change of registration. Conclusions: The study emphasises the high incidence of absence of psycho-pathological problems (observed in approximately one-third of the cases), the precociousness in the appearance of the transsexual feeling and the proximity between the surgery and the application for registration, conditioned by the current legal requirements. The results obtained in the present study are compared with other series, taking into account the difference in the procedures used

Contribution of dental tissues to sex determination in modern human populations.

OBJECTIVES: Accurate sex estimation is an essential step for the reconstruction of the biological profile of human remains. Earlier studies have shown that elements of the human permanent dentition are sexually dimorphic. The aims of this study are to determine the degree of sexual dimorphism in the dental tissue volumes and surface areas of mandibular canines and to explore its potential for reliable sex determination. METHOD: The teeth included in this study (n = 69) were selected from anthropological collections from Spain, South Africa and Sudan. In all cases, the sex of the individuals was known. The teeth were scanned and three-dimensional (3D) measurements (volumes and surfaces areas) were obtained. Finally, a dsicriminant function analysis was applied. RESULTS: Our results showed that sexual dimorphism in canine size is due to males having greater amounts of dentine, whereas enamel volume does not contribute significantly to overall tooth size dimorphism. Classification accuracy of the multivariable equations tested on slightly worn teeth ranged from 78 to 90.2% for the crossvalidation, and from 71.43 to 84.62% for the hold-out sample validation. When all functions were applied together, the sex was correctly assigned 92.30% of the time. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that the 3D variables from mandibular canine dental tissues are useful for sex determination as they present a high degree of dimorphism. The results obtained show the importance of 3D dental tissue measurements as a methodology in sex determination, which application should be considered as a supplemental method to others.

Age Estimation Based on a Radiographic Study of the Growing Foot.

BACKGROUND: We sought to determine a predictive model of data, differentiated by sex, from a radiographic study of the skeleton of the foot as an alternative to the classic study of the hand. METHODS: The study included 2,476 digital radiographs from 816 participants aged 0 to 21 years. The radiographs were from the Radiology Diagnostic Services of the Public Health System of Extremadura (Spain) from 2007 to 2011. The method used for their analysis consisted of assigning a numerical code to each ossification center of each growing bone of the foot and subsequently subjecting the data to a multivariate, decision tree, statistical analysis. RESULTS: The decision tree study identified the bones that have a common age-dependent pattern of growth (as determined by a comparison of means test with P < .01) among individuals of the same sex. The quality of the decision tree predictions was evaluated in terms of the r 2 coefficient. These values were r2 = 0.897 for females and r2 = 0.890 for males, thus establishing the predictive goodness of the model of bone data to provide a specific estimate of the individual's age. CONCLUSIONS: The foot is a good predictor of an individual's age from birth to complete bone maturity.

El rito de la «Apertura de la Boca» en el Antiguo Egipto: estudio bucodental de una cabeza egipcia momificada / The Ritual of «Opening of the Mouth» in Ancient Egypt: study on a mummified egyptian head

La momificación o embalsamamiento es un proceso que se desarrolló en el Antiguo Egipto para conservar el cuerpo tras la muerte, y preservar así la identidad del individuo en la vida futura, de acuerdo con sus costumbres funerarias. El rito de la «Apertura de la Boca y los Ojos», formaba parte de los ritos funerarios y pretendía devolver al difunto la capacidad de hablar y de observar en el más allá. Se realizaba sobre el cadáver previamente a su embalsamamiento, o bien se «representaba» ante la momia ya embalsamada o una estatua de la misma. Se presenta el caso de un cráneo humano momificado del Museo de Antropología Forense, Paleopatología y Criminalística de la Escuela de Medicina Legal de Madrid. Presenta protrusión lingual y fracturas en los dientes del grupo anterosuperior (AU)

Mummification or embalming is a process which was developed in Ancient Egypt in order to preserve the body after death, and thereby to maintain the individual's identity in the afterlife, in accordance with Ancient Egyptian funerary customs. The ritual of Opening the Mouth and Eyes formed part of the funerary rituals and constituted an attempt to restore the ability of the deceased to speak and see in the life beyond. It was performed on the corpse prior to embalming, or it was «performed» in front of the mummy after embalming or a statue of the mummy. We present the case of a mummified human cranium from the Forensic Anthropology, Paleopathology and Criminal Studies Museum at the Legal Medicine School of Madrid. It displays a protruding tongue and fractures on the teeth in the anterosuperior group (AU)

Determining sex by bone volume from 3D images: discriminating analysis of the tali and radii in a contemporary Spanish reference collection.

The discriminant power of bone volume for determining sex has not been possible to determine due to the difficulty in its calculation. At present, new advancements based on 3D technology make it possible to reproduce the bone digitally and calculate its volume using computerized tools, which opens up a new window to ascertaining the discriminant power of this variable. With this objective in mind, the tali and radii of 101 individuals (48 males and 53 females) of a contemporary Spanish reference collection (twentieth century) (EML 1) were scanned using the Picza 3D Laser Scanner. Calculated for the tali were total volume, the volume of the posterior region, which includes the posterior calcaneal facet and other three volumes of the anterior region. Calculated for the radius were total volume, volume of the radius head, volume of the diaphysis, and volume of the distal end. The data are presented for all of the variables, distinguishing between the right and left side. The data were processed using the statistical program PASW Statistics 18, thereby obtaining classification functions for sex which accurately classify 90.9 % of tali and 93.9 % of radii on the basis of their total left and right volume, respectively. Studying the volume in different regions of the bone shows that the diaphysis of the right radius possesses a high level of discriminant power, offering classification functions which accurately classify 96.9 % of the sample. The validation test performed on a sample of 20 individuals from another contemporary Spanish reference collection (EML 2) confirms the high discriminant power of the volume obtaining an accurate classification rate of 80-95 % depending on the variable studied.

Determinación del sexo a través de los dientes utilizando el análisis de imagen / Sex determination by the teeth using the analysis of the image

La determinación del sexo en los restos óseos es muy importante para llegar a la identificación del sujeto. Los dientes son las estructuras biológicas más resistentes a la acción de los agentes externos, por lo que se convierten en un extraordinario documento biológico. El dismorfismo sexual en los dientes es muy variable, generalmente los dientes de mujer son más pequeños. Existen multitud de estudios basados en mediciones manuales del tamaño dentario. Nosotros, en este estudio, hemos realizado la medición del perímetro dental en relación con el sexo, utilizando placas radiográficas y un analizador de imagen. En nuestros resultados encontramos la mayor correlación con el sexo en los incisivos centrales superiores pertenecientes a restos dentarios recientes (AU)

Sex determination in osseous rests is very important to achieve the identification of the individual. Teeth are biological structures more resistant to the action of external agents. For that rreason they are a exceptional biological document. Sexual dimorphism on teeth is very variable, usually teeth of women are smaller. There are a great variety of studies based on normal measurements of dental size. We have done in this study the measurement of dental perimeter related to sex, using radiographic plates and an image analyzer. Inour results we find the greater correlation with sex in the upper incisives belonging to recent dental rests (AU)

Desarrollo y evolución dental: del pez al hombre / Development and dental evolution: From fish to man

Pocas veces pensamos en nuestras consultas en el complejo proceso evolutivo que han conformado los dientes humanos tal y como los conocemos. El estudio de la evolución dental constituye uno de los puntos clave de los estudios tanto antropológicos como paleoantropológicos. En la evolución dental, los precursores del diente provienen de las escamas placoideas de los peces, desarrollados de las llamadas faneras córneas; estructuras que comparten con los dientes modernos un origen, una estructura o una función similar pero que aún distan mucho de considerarse dientes verdaderos. A partir de las escamas placoideas, se desarrollarán los dientes conoides, considerados como los primeros dientes per se. A expensas de la llamada molarización, estos dientes conoides van ganando en complejidad hasta adoptar un patrón cuatritubercular. Desde la aparición en el árbol evolutivo de los primeros primates, los dientes experimentaron una reducción dental en número, tamaño, elementos y estructura, pareja a la reducción craneofacial. Esta reducción dental sigue siendo evidente en el hombre actual (AU)

In our dental practices, we do not often think about the complex evolutionary processes that led to human teeth as we now know them. The study of dental evolution is one of the key points in anthropological and paleo-anthropological studies. In the evolution of teeth, the predecessors of teeth arose from the placoid scales of fish, which in turn had evolved from the so-called corneal annexes (corneal phanerae), structures which share an origin, structure and similar functions with modern teeth, but which were still quite distant from what we consider true teeth. Conoid teeth evolved from the placoid scales, considered to be the first teeth per se. At the expense of so-called molarization, these conoid teeth gained complexity until taking on a quadratubercular pattern. Since the advent of the first primates in the evolutionary tree, teeth experienced a decrease in number, size, elements and structure, similar to craneo-facial reduction. This dental reduction remains evident in man today (AU)