The determination of correlation between total length of upper limb and length of upper limb segments in students of Tehran University of Medical Sciences

Estimating limb length based on the remaining parts of each limb is one of the most important challenges among anatomists and forensic specialists. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between upper limb length and length of upper limb segments to derive a regression formula for estimating upper limb length.

Four parameter of upper limb length, arm length, forearm length and arm length were taken from 199 students of Tehran University of Medical Sciences (18-25 years old) and then statistically analyzed using SPSS 16 software. And linear regression model was used to estimate the length of the upper limb.

By examining the Pearson correlation in the whole statistical population, a direct relationship was found between the total length of the upper limb and arm length, forearm length and arm length (p = 0.0001, 0.803, 0.824, 0.836, respectively).

We found a strong correlation between upper limb length and arm length, forearm length and length. Regression analysis also showed that arm and forearm length were more valuable than forearm length for estimating upper limb length.