Bone Stature Calculator
Estimate living height from skeletal long bone measurements using Trotter-Gleser regression equations.
Last reviewed: June 2026How the Bone Stature Calculator works
This calculator estimates living stature from measured long-bone length using selected Trotter-Gleser regression equations. The implemented inputs are femur length and optional tibia length, both in centimeters. It does not use radius, humerus, fibula, or other measurements, so the explanatory text should stay tied to those two fields.
When femur and tibia are both present and a combined equation is available for the selected reference group, the calculator applies stature = slope x (femur + tibia) + intercept. If tibia is blank, or if the selected reference group does not include a combined equation in this implementation, it falls back to the femur-only equation: stature = slope x femur + intercept.
Interpreting the result
The central stature estimate is shown in centimeters and feet/inches. The standard error is not a guarantee and not a full legal confidence interval. It is a compact way to show that the equation has scatter: two people with the same femur and tibia lengths can have different living statures because body proportions vary.
The reference-group selector reflects the historical Trotter-Gleser labels included in this calculator. Those labels are not a complete modern ancestry model, and they should not be guessed from appearance. In professional work, method selection depends on case context, population history, measurement definitions, and comparison with other biological-profile evidence.
Worked examples
With the default 45 cm femur, 37 cm tibia, and the Trotter-Gleser White male reference, the combined equation is 1.2244 x (45 + 37) + 68.56, which gives about 169.0 cm, or roughly 5 ft 7 in. If the tibia field is empty, the femur-only equation uses 2.38 x 45 + 61.41, giving about 168.5 cm. That small difference is specific to this example; other measurements can diverge more.
For a reference group without a combined equation in this implementation, the calculator uses femur-only even when tibia is entered. For example, the Trotter-Gleser Black male reference with a 45 cm femur uses 2.11 x 45 + 70.35, or about 165.3 cm.
Common mistakes
- Entering millimeters as centimeters: a 450 mm femur should be entered as 45 cm.
- Using the wrong measurement definition: osteometric length definitions matter. A clinical image length or partial bone length may not match the original equation measurement.
- Reading the estimate too precisely: round sensibly and treat the result as a range clue.
- Choosing a reference group without context: mismatched equations can bias the estimate.
- Using stature alone for identification: stature can narrow a profile, but it cannot identify a person by itself.
Sources and limitations
This page is aligned with the original Trotter-Gleser long-bone stature literature indexed by PubMed, later discussion of modern applicability and standard error in forensic anthropology metric-method reviews, and measurement guidance from the SWGANTH stature estimation document. This is a simplified educational calculator, not forensic casework software.