Fibulo-tibial weight index--a new criterion for sex identification based on the lower leg bones.

This study was designed in an attempt to determine whether the fibula can provide reliable information for sexing human bones, if measurements include tibial indices. Our results allow us to introduce a new criterion for sexing long bones: the fibulo-tibial weight index. Bone weight was determined, together with conventional measurements, such as maximum bone length and mid-shaft circumference. The materials consisted of dried tibiae and fibulae of 71 recently decreased Japanese males and 31 females. The mean value of the fibulo-tibial weight index was very significantly greater in females than in males. In discriminant analysis, the rate of correct sex discrimination was improved by the inclusion of the fibulo-tibial weight index.