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The presence of transverse foramina in the axes of Japanese serows, a special national natural treasure in Japan, has been reported to be unstable, but other variations are unknown. In this study, we analysed the shape, cross‐sectional area, length, and volume of the transverse foramen in the axes of 19 specimens using gross anatomy and computed tomography (CT) scan. There were four types in the transverse foramen: type 1, having the transverse foramina; type 2, having two cranial openings; type 3, sifting a caudal opening to the ventral side of the transverse process; and type 4, having no transverse foramina. Although the transverse foramina showed different types on the left and right sides in several specimens, there were no statistically significant differences in the length and volume. This variation may be related to running patterns of the vertebral artery penetrating the transverse foramina. Two goats without the transverse foramina were examined to infer a running pattern of the vertebral artery instead of Japanese serows. The vertebral artery in the goats branched in two directions (spinal and muscle), between the axis and the third cervical vertebra. This passage of the goat vertebral artery might be presumed in type 4 of Japanese serows. This study reveals the instability of the transverse foramina in the axes of Japanese serows and provides new data to compare the axes of other ruminants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to assess correlations between measurements of the second cervical vertebra (C2) and stature using multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) images, and to develop regression equations for estimating stature in a Japanese population. Measurements were performed on 216 Japanese subjects (116 males and 100 females) who underwent postmortem CT between May 2011 and November 2013. Sagittal images through the center of the C2 were used for assessment. The length from the top of the dens to the anteroinferior point of the vertebral body (DA), the length from the anteroinferior point of the vertebral body to the posterior point of the spinous process (AS), and the length from the top of the dens to the posterior point of the spinous process (DS) were measured. The correlation between stature and each parameter (DA, AS, and DS) was assessed using Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients and regression analysis was performed for stature estimation. All measurements of the C2 were positively correlated with stature regardless of sex. The highest correlation was observed for the DA in all cases, and the lowest correlation was observed for AS in all cases. However, the standard errors of estimate were large. Thus, our study concludes that the size of the C2 as measured with MDCT images may be useful for stature estimation only when better predictors, such as long bones, are unavailable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate sex estimation is important in forensic investigation to determine the identity of unknown individuals. The aim of this study was to investigate the accuracy of sex assessment based on measurements of the second cervical vertebra (C2) using computed tomographic (CT) images in a Japanese population and to develop discriminant function formulae. The data were collected from 224 Japanese cadavers (112 male subjects, 112 female subjects) on which postmortem CT scanning and subsequent forensic autopsy were performed. Nine CT measurements of the C2 were performed for CT images of each subject. The measurements were assessed using descriptive statistics and discriminant function analyses (DFA). All of the measurements demonstrated significant sexual dimorphism. Multiple DFA with stepwise variable selection resulted in multivariable models; a five-variable model reached an accuracy rate of 92.9%. Our results suggest that metric analysis based on CT images of the C2 can accurately determine the sex from the human skeletal remains in a contemporary Japanese population and may be useful for sex estimation in forensic anthropology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]