Geometric Morphometric Analysis Based on Sacrum Landmarks among Malaysian Population
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Objectives: This study aimed to conduct a GMM analysis to explore the shape variations of the sacrum according to sex, ancestry, and age among the three main ethnicities of the Malaysian population. Materials and Methods: A total of 320 subjects were included. The segmented CT images of the sacral bones obtained with Mimics Research 17.0 software were landmarked with 19 points via the Institute for Data Analysis and Visualization Landmark 3.0 software. The coordinates were extracted into Notepad++ 7.6.3 software and analyzed with MorphoJ 1.06d software. Results: The greatest degree of variation was observed in the transverse diameter of the first sacral (S1) body, the alae dimensions, and the auricular surfaces. The success rates of the sex discrimination function with cross-validation ranged from 84.47% (136/161) to 92.45% (147/159). Males had a relatively more curved sacrum, longer sacral height and auricular length, and larger S1 body dimensions but narrower alae compared with females. The success rates of the discrimination function with cross-validation between Chinese and Indian ranged from 64.22% (70/109) to 83.02% (88/106). Chinese had generally greater sacral basal width and sacral height compared with Malay and Indian. Elderly individuals had larger S1 body dimensions and alae anteroposterior dimensions and a shorter sacral height compared with adolescents. Conclusion: This population-specific study is valuable for Malaysian experts in analyzing the sacrum for biological profiling.
Institution: Hospital Kuala Lumpur
Language: English
Subfield: Archeology (arts and humanities)
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7220863553