Manisha R. Dayal

The History and Composition of the Raymond A. Dart Collection of Human Skeletons at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

The Raymond A. Dart Collection of Human Skeletons (Dart Collection) is housed in the School of Anatomical Sciences at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, and comprises one of the largest documented cadaver-derived human skeletal assemblages in the world. This collection originated in the early 1920s as a result of the efforts of Raymond Dart and continues to grow. The skeletons included represent varied indigenous and immigrant populations from southern Africa, Europe and Asia. This contribution documents the history of the collection and provides an updated inventory and demographic assessment of this valuable research collection. According to a recent inventory the Dart Collection currently comprises 2,605 skeletons representing individuals from regional SA African (76%), White (15%), Coloured (4%) and Indian (0.3%) populations. A large proportion of the skeletons (71%) represent males. The recorded ages at death range from the first year to over 100 years of age, but the majority of individuals died between the ages of 20 and 70. The Dart Collection has been affected by collection procedures based on availability. All of the cadavers collected before 1958, and large proportions subsequently, were derived from unclaimed bodies in regional South African hospitals. Some details of documentation (age at death, population group) are estimates and some aspects of the collection demographics (sex ratios) do not closely reflect any living South African population. Our inventory and analysis of the Dart Collection is aimed to assist researchers planning research on the materials from this collection.

An assessment of sex using the skull of black South Africans by discriminant function analysis.

The derivation of discriminant function equations for skeletal elements of South African populations continues to be an area of interest to both forensic anthropologists and skeletal biologists alike. The skull of black South Africans has previously been subjected to discriminant function analysis, using four measurements and two indices; however, no equations were derived to address the issue of sex determination. Recently Franklin, Freedman and Milne [2005. Sexual dimorphism and discriminant function sexing in indigenous South African crania. HOMO J. Comp. Hum. Biol. 55, 213-228] used the crania of black South Africans, in a three-dimensional approach, with eight linear measurements to investigate sex determination. This study, although valuable, requires the use of highly technical and expensive morphometric equipment that renders it less feasible in South Africa. In response to this, our study uses traditional anthropometric measurements and equipment to address the question of sex determination from the crania and mandible of blacks. One hundred and twenty non-pathological skulls were randomly selected from the Raymond Dart Collection of Human Skeletons, equally distributed by sex and belonging to individuals whose age at death ranges between 25 and 70 years. Fourteen cranial and six mandibular measurements were subjected to discriminant function analyses and discriminant function equations were derived for sex determination. Average accuracies ranged between 80% and 85% and were on par with that obtained in previous studies. Our study shows that traditional methods provide average accuracies that are comparable to those obtained using more complex techniques.

Further evidence to show population specificity of discriminant function equations for sex determination using the talus of South African blacks

Several studies have shown that osteometric differences exist between different population groups. Thus, discriminant function equations derived for the determination of sex from skeletal elements are population specific. In a previous study, the authors derived such equations from nine measurements of the talus of South African whites with high levels of average accuracies. The validity of some of the equations was tested on data collected from a South African black sample that consisted of 120 tali, equally distributed by sex, derived from the Raymond A. Dart Collection of Human Skeletons. The average accuracies dropped significantly. This necessitated the derivation of new equations for the South African black population and the average accuracies obtained ranged between 80% and 89%. The validity of the equations derived from the present study was tested using the leave-one-out classification and two independent samples (1 and 2). The applicability of the equations with very high classification rate from the present study was tested on Independent sample 1 of 10 white tali with poor results. The result of the validity of these equations on an Independent sample 2 of 10 black tali revealed acceptably high average accuracies in correct classification thereby supporting earlier observations on population specificity of discriminant function equations.

Sex determination from the talus of South african whites by discriminant function analysis.

The field of forensic anthropology involves the building of an antemortem profile of an individual from skeletal remains. This includes sex and race determination and age and stature estimation. Since most bones that are conventionally used for sex determination are often recovered either in a fragmented or incomplete state, it has become necessary to use denser bones that are often recovered intact, eg, the patella, calcaneus, and talus. Thus the aim of this study is to assess the sex-determining ability of each of the measurements of the talus and derive discriminant function equations for sex determination in the South African white population. Sixty male and 60 female tali of South African whites obtained from the Raymond A. Dart Collection of Human Skeletons were used. Nine measurements were taken on each talus. Descriptive statistics and discriminant function analysis were performed on the acquired data. The basic statistics showed that all measurements were sexually dimorphic. Univariate, stepwise, and direct discriminant function equations were generated for use in sex determination. The level of average accuracy of sex classification was 80% to 82% for the univariate method, 85% to 88% for the stepwise method, and 81% to 86% for the direct method. It is concluded that the talus of South African whites is useful for sex determination.

Discriminating sex in South African blacks using patella dimensions

For many years, sex determination has been carried out on skeletal remains to identify individuals in forensic cases and to assess populations in archaeological cases. Since it has been shown that not all bones are found in a forensic case, discriminant function equations should be derived for all bones of the body to assist in sex determination. Numerous studies have shown the usefulness of bones of the lower extremity (e.g. femur, tibia) in sex determination using discriminant function analysis, but the use of patella measurements has not been extensively investigated for this purpose. It is therefore the aim of this study to derive discriminant function equations for sex determination from measurements of the patella of South African blacks as represented in the Raymond A. Dart Collection of Human Skeletons. A total sample of 120 (60 male, 60 female) patellae were measured using six measurements. The Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) program was used to derive the equations. Stepwise and direct analyses were performed with the highest rate of classification of 85% thereby making the patella useful for sex determination. Thus, the proposed equations derived from this study should be used with caution and only on the South African black population group.

The application of 3D printing in anatomy education

No abstract available. (Published: 16 October 2015) Citation: Med Educ Online 2015, 20: 29847 - http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/meo.v20.29847

A forensic case study of a naturally mummified brain from the bushveld of South Africa

ABSTRACT: The present study reports our observations of a naturally mummified human brain found in the bushveld of South Africa. This case extends the geographic and climatic ranges in which mummified brains have been found, and it represents an additional case where no human activity has led to the mummification. The mummified brain was c. one fifth the size of a normal human brain, while the gyral and sulcal patterns of a typical human brain were clear. CT scanning of the brain revealed that subcortical structures, normally evident in this type of imaging, were not discernable, indicating a slow mummification process. Histological examination of the tissue revealed near complete degradation of the microanatomical structure, with only putative Nissl bodies remaining as identifiable neural microstructures. The specimen appears to have survived several veld fires, as well as a high annual rainfall, and a high relative humidity. It is thought that specific conditions amenable to brain mummification, but not other soft tissues, occurred in the skull of this specimen in the weeks postmortem.

Working Together, Sharing Resources: An Interuniversity Collaboration to Advance Anatomy Education

To the Editor, Anatomical Sciences Education:The unprecedented advancements in medical and scientificresearch as well as considerable, globally felt demographicchanges, induced significant shifts within the health services land-scape. Part of this shift is marked by an increased demand forhealth care professionals, coming from both medicine and allieddisciplines, and, consequently, an increase in the number of Medi-cal Schools. For example, in Australia, a country from which thisreport stems, there are 19 Medical Schools. Nine of these wereestablished in the last 14 years, with a 10th school being signifi-cantly expanded in the same period of time (AMC, 2014).All this, in turn, has necessitated an increase in capacitiesto teach anatomy, one of the key preclinical subjects across allmedical disciplines. Anatomy somewhat differs from other pre-clinical subjects as it requires extensive teaching resources.Building up of capacities for anatomy teaching represents aconsiderable financial strain and even if schools have sufficientbudgets at their disposal it takes a long time and supportivecultural/communal milieu to build up appropriate collections,particularly those containing human tissue. Here, we proposethat some of the problems and constrains related to developingand maintaining anatomy programs could be overcomethrough a community of practice (Wenger, 1998), and illus-trate this by a collaboration of two Australian universities.Macquarie University and the University of Western Syd-ney are among Australia’s youngest tertiary institutions, theformer being 50 and the latter 25 years old. Both universitiesare in the academic ascendency and in their strategic planssee biomedical sciences as an area for further expansion.Both universities have anatomy programs. In recent years,some academics from these universities engaged in commu-nity of practice in anatomy. At first, these were informalexchanges on various aspects of anatomy education includingoptimal utilization of existing resources, modes of teaching,assessments, ways in which humanistic values could be incor-porated in teaching, and strategies of coping with relativelyhigh failure rates in some of the units (modules). This interin-stitutional collaboration seemed of particular importance inAustralia bearing in mind relative lack of clearly definednational standards and high level of diversity in the waysanatomy is taught. A survey of Australian and New ZealandMedical School programs, for example, showed that the totalnumber of hours devoted to anatomy teaching ranges from56 to 560 (Craig et al., 2010). This diversity, to an extent,precludes co-operation between institutions in the field ofeducation and several experts have called for the establish-ment of national anatomy curriculum in Australia (Chapuiset al., 2010; Ramsey-Stewart et al., 2010).The early exchanges between staff in our two institutionsproved to be beneficial and our community of practice evolvedand ramified. Collaborating academics now also act as guestlecturers, they are involved in moderation of assessments andadvising on curricular changes. Departments are also gettingengaged in the exchange and sharing of some of their resour-ces. For example, one of the departments has created a collec-tion of digitalized histology slides, produced in their biologylaboratory. These are now shared with the collaborating insti-tution. These slides can be utilized in teaching, laboratorypractical sessions, assessments, and can be easily incorporatedin on-line resources (both departments are strongly relying onblended mode of learning and teaching). Thus, one collaborat-ing institution was saved expenses and, more importantly,time-intensive preparations and engagement of technicalexpertize, in creating these resources, capitalizing on the exist-ing strengths of the other. Similarly, both universities have rela-tively small teaching skeletal collections. Joined together,however, these two represent a significant collection and a con-siderably improved teaching tool when compared to one alone.This combined collection contains substantial heterogeneity interms of age, ancestry, sex, and pathology and can play animportant role in developing students’ understanding of bio-logical variation. It is, therefore, planned that these twodepartments will use each other’s collection in teaching, a strat-egy easily implemented due to a relative geographic proximityof the two institutions and the fact that both collections arewell catalogued using the OsteoWare software (SmithsonianInstitution, Washington, DC).Finally, the most ambitious collaborative project, followingthe work of McMenamin and colleagues, relates to an initia-tive to build up a collection of models created by three-dimensional (3D) printers (McMenamin et al., 2014). The firststeps have already been made at one of the institutions wherecadavers or sections from cadavers in anatomy laboratorieswere scanned and on these blueprints a 3D reproductions werecreated. These models are currently used in anatomy teaching.It is planned that the specimens will be scanned in the laborato-ries at both Macquarie University and the University of West-ern Sydney, exchanged and, again, printed in both places.Similarly to the skeletal collection, this approach will enablesignificant enlargement of the collection of created models and

Measurements of the talus in the assessment of population affinity

As part of their routine work, forensic anthropologists are expected to report population affinity as part of the biological profile of an individual. The skull is the most widely used bone for the estimation of population affinity but it is not always present in a forensic case. Thus, other bones that preserve well have been shown to give a good indication of either the sex or population affinity of an individual. In this study, the potential of measurements of the talus was investigated for the purpose of estimating population affinity in South Africans. Nine measurements from two hundred and twenty tali of South African Africans (SAA) and South African Whites (SAW) from the Raymond A. Dart Collection of Human Skeletons were used. Direct and step-wise discriminant function and logistic regression analyses were carried out using SPSS and SAS. Talar length was the best single variable for discriminating between these two groups for males while in females the head height was the best single predictor. Average accuracies for correct population affinity classification using logistic regression analysis were higher than those obtained from discriminant function analysis. This study was the first of its type to employ discriminant function analyses and logistic regression analyses to estimate the population affinity of an individual from the talus. Thus these equations can now be used by South African anthropologists when estimating the population affinity of dismembered or damaged or incomplete skeletal remains of SAA and SAW.

Students' attitudes toward body image donation for 3D printing: Letter to the Editor

Anatomy education has been evolving rapidly in recent years and one of its main features has been the utilization of new technologies. In both educational and financial terms, among the most promising of these technologies is 3D printing (McMenamin et al., 2014). While the technical aspects of printing have been investigated considerably in the last few years, very little attention has been paid to the legal and ethical aspects of it (Cornwall, 2016). One might assume that the images of anatomical structures for 3D printing (both living and dead) are to be used only if informed consent was obtained. If that is the case than the willingness of different populations toward donation of body images for educational purposes is of significant interest. These attitudes, however, have not been investigated yet. The aim of this study was to investigate the attitudes of first year anatomy students toward image donation and contrast them with their attitudes toward whole body donation for anatomy education. A survey was completed among first-year anatomy students at Macquarie University, Sydney. A questionnaire was designed based on a previous survey of students’ attitudes toward whole body donation for anatomy education (Alexander et al., 2014). Students were asked about their willingness to donate images of their bodies for 3D printing with “yes,” “no,” and “cannot tell” as possible answers. They were also asked if they would advise their family members and strangers to donate. For comparison, they were asked the same questions concerning whole body donation. The study was approved by Macquarie University Human Research Ethics Committee. A class of 483 first-year anatomy students were surveyed. Of these, 75.6% responded. Overall, the respondents favored donation of medical images of the bodies rather than whole body donation (Table 1). Students showed significantly greater opposition to whole body donation compared to medical image donation when it came to their own body (v554.079, df51, N5365, P<0.000) or that of a family member (v55.347, df51, N5366, P<0.050) but not with regard to donation by strangers (v51.165, df51, N5366, P50.280). Somewhat worrying is the fact that students were prone to advise strangers to make a whole body donation, but less inclined to make a donation themselves or to suggest that to family members (cf. similar results in Perry and Ettarh, 2009; Alexander et al., 2014; Srdić Galić et al., 2016). These differences, however, were not as pronounced in attitudes toward image donation. Further developments in the application of new imaging technologies in anatomy education are dependent on the willingness of individuals of different ages, sex, and ancestry to donate the images of their bodies. This study suggests that finding image donors might be considerably easier than finding whole body donors. It would appear that some reasons which traditionally make members of the public reluctant to donate, such as religious beliefs, cultural constraints, and fear that the bodies will not be respected in anatomy laboratories, are not as strong in the case of image donation as they are in the case of full body donation. This seems to be of great importance as images and 3D models produced upon them play an increasingly important role in medical education (Baskaran et al., 2016; Li et al. 2017). Furthermore, 3D images and prints are produced with increasingly better quality and represent good replacements for human tissue which is often difficult to obtain and expensive to maintain (AbouHashem et al., 2015). Further studies, particularly of the general population, should throw more light on this subject and provide further data necessary in informing donation programs.