Human anatomy is one of the fundamental subjects in medical and health education. In recent years, anatomy teaching in Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) has undergone a major transition from a highly detailed, didactic method to student-centred pedagogy and clinical correlations. Hence, this study aimed to assess the perception of the anatomy curriculum amongst USIM clinical students and to evaluate the clinicians’ cognisance of their students’ anatomical knowledge and application. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 232 clinical students (fourth-, fifth- and final-year) and 32 clinicians from various disciplines with the validated questionnaires. Descriptive analysis was performed to analyse the findings regarding students’ and clinicians’ perceptions. The majority of the students agreed that the anatomy curriculum was adequately covered in the pre-clinical years except for the imaging and clinical correlation classes. In terms of the teaching method, most of the students perceived that the tutorials (99.2%), practical sessions (98.7%), lectures (97.4%) and problembased learning (PBL) (96.1%) were the best approaches in understanding anatomy comprehensively. Results also indicated that the practical sessions (99.1%), lectures (94.8%), tutorials (94.8%) and PBL (93.9%) were the best methods in retaining anatomy knowledge. Besides, 62.9% of students strongly agreed that objective structured practical examination (OSPE) was the most helpful assessment for their anatomical knowledge retention. The majority of the clinicians perceived their clinical year students had a satisfactory level of anatomical knowledge (n = 21, 65.6%) and also believed that the anatomical correlation classes were essential for their disciplines. Students recognised the value of the current teaching methodology for their knowledge retention and comprehension. However, both clinicians and students felt there were limited opportunities for clinical application during teaching and learning. It is therefore imperative to implement appropriate restructuring to the current anatomy curriculum to address students’ needs and preferences for their future medical practice.

Objective: Sex estimation is one of the crucial steps for human identification, which is evident in cases of commingled, eroded, and/or missing remains. When pelvis or skull are unavailable, scapula has been used as an alternative bone for determining sex. Besides, the scapula was shown to be population-specific in several studies. Limited dry bone collections in Malaysia have led to various recommendations of virtual anthropology studies of bone in human identification. The aims of this study were to investigate the sexual dimorphism of the scapula using three-dimensional (3D) computed tomography (CT) imaging and to generate population-specific equations for sex determination in the Malaysian population. Methods: A total of 66 CT thorax images of 33 males and 33 females were taken. Morphological breadth (MB) and morphological length (ML) on bilateral scapulae were measured on 3D CT reconstructed images. Independent t-test and discriminant function analysis (DFA) were performed for analysis. Results: Results revealed that both parameters showed sexual dimorphism of scapula but displayed no difference between the right and left scapulae. DFA showed that MB and ML had high accuracy for sex estimation. The equations were highly accurate when both parameters were used in combination, followed by MB only and ML only, in that sequence. Conclusion: In brief, scapula measurements may be useful for forensic assessment of sex in the Malaysian population.

Research in forensic anthropology is recent in Malaysia due to limited access to documented skeletal collections. However, advanced imaging techniques provide virtual bone samples for use in morphometric studies to establish population-specific standards by virtual anthropology. This study examined sexual dimorphism in the subpubic angle using a three-dimensional computed tomography model of the pelvis, in a contemporary Malaysian population. The sample comprised multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) scans of 50 male and 50 female adults. Segmentation of the MDCT scans was performed using 3D Slicer, and four landmarks were acquired using Stratovan Checkpoint for the subpubic angle measurement. The technical error of measurement (TEM), relative TEM, and coefficient of reliability (R) exhibited high reliability in measurements. Results showed that the subpubic angle in males was 68.6°±7.6° and in females 87.4°±6.5°. The subpubic angle in females was significantly larger than in males (P<0.001). Inverse correlation was found between the subpubic angle and age, in both males (r=−0.449, P<0.01) and females (r=−0.385, P<0.01). The overall accuracy of sex estimation using the subpubic angle was 94% (P<0.001). The subpubic angle, with a demarcating point of 78.6°, showed a sensitivity and specificity of 94% in the classification of female individuals. In conclusion, sex estimation using the subpu bic angle is highly accurate, with a high degree of expected sensitivity and specificity in the Malaysian population.

Abstract : Background The ears have increasingly been recognized as one of the supportive tools in forensics, based on the identifcation of landmark variations of ear biometrics in living persons. However, no studies on the reliability of such comparisons have been done on the deceased. Methods : The study aimed to investigate the correlation between ear biometrics and the age, sex, and stature of the deceased. The study was conducted on 181 deceased persons, aged between 18 and 70 years old on cases received by the Forensic Unit of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre. Documentation of age, sex, race, and height was recorded, and photographs of bilateral ears were taken. Measurements of twelve ear biometrics based on the Iannarelli method and ear length and ear width were taken from the photographs. Results Results showed that there was a signifcant diference between males and females in six ear biometrics. There was also a signifcant correlation between ear biometrics, that is, ear length and ear width with the age and height of an individual. Conclusions In brief, there exists a signifcant diference between males and females in ear biometrics with good correlations between ear biometrics and the height and age of an individual. Hence, the ear can be used for personal identifcation in the forensic feld.