The estimation of stature on the basis of measurements of the femur

The study aims to establish the relationship between body height and the greatest length of the femur. The motive for undertaking these examinations was the lack in the literature of studies that allow - with reference to the current population of Central Europe - the reconstruction of height while alive based on measurements of a skeleton. It was decided to examine isolated bones from human remains undergoing forensic autops, and belonging to individuals of both sexes whose growth processes had stopped. Examinations were conducted on 91 human bodies from the contemporary Polish population. The research points to a very close relationship between the length of a dead body and the measured greatest length of the femur. This relationship was expressed in nine coefficients of correlation calculated for both sexes. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.