McNair Scholars Research Journal
Abstract
The purpose of this research is to explore the potential use of the hyoid bone for sex estimation as a way to increase the accuracy in the identification of deceased transgender individuals from skeletonized remains. Being able to recognize transgender status from the hyoid bone could be crucial to the positive identification of these individuals, to provide closure for families, and to seek justice in situations of foul play. The program Amira 3D™ 2023 was used to create 3D models of the hyoid bone and to take measurements to determine whether transgender individuals can be differentiated from phenotypical, cisgender male and female hyoids. The results for this pilot study indicate that there are no significant differences between the hyoid bone length and width measurements or the hyoid index of transgender individuals and cisgender males or females. In addition to the small sample size, the DICOM images varied in thickness, which affected the quality of the 3D model renderings. This led to the hyoid density often being too low for clear thresholding. Furthermore, the medical history for when individuals began medical transition and the length of time of HRT exposure were not accessible. More research needs to be done to understand the impacts of HRT on bone size and morphology. There is an overwhelming need for more research into transgender medicine within the forensic field in order to account for missing and unidentified individuals whose remains are gender ambiguous.