Abstract
This study is a forensic anthropological response to the current and predicted increase in the numbers of unidentified human skeletal remains with surgical implants. This study evaluates the efficacy of osteometric pair matching used to identify antimeres of the lower extremity that have at least one surgical implant. I evaluated 16 human skeletal remains with lower extremity surgical implants and compared the metric and nonmetric observations to my control sample that comprised 16 human skeletal remains without surgical implants. The samples comprised in this study come from the Florida Gulf Coast University Donated Skeletal Collection and the University of Tennessee-Knoxville Forensic Dentistry Donated Skeletal Collection. This study tested the Byrd and Adams (2003) osteometric pair matching method through an M statistical model, comprising measurements taken of the ossa coxae, femora, tibiae, and fibulae on skeletal remains that at least one lower extremity surgical implant. The skeletal remains with orthopedic implants were compared to skeletons similar in sex, age, and without orthopedic implants. The findings of the study resulted in 70% of measurement M-values not exceeding the 95th percentile, for individuals with orthopedic implants, and 92% for individuals without orthopedic implants. The results revealed statistical significance in the frequency in the M-values exceeding the 95th percentile where the femora were present with orthopedic implants more specifically, the femoral maximum length. Established by the results of this study, forensic anthropologists are recommended to use their best judgement on whether utilizing osteometric pair matching is applicable to their case analyses that require antimere comparisons containing lower extremity surgical implants. Subsequently, other comparison methods should be applied in congruence as is standard best practice.