Gardaí have said the body parts found at a recycling plant in Ballyfermot, Dublin are male and from the same person.
Gardaí have recovered other parts, believed to be human flesh and bones during their search this weekend. No other identifiable limbs have been found, they said in a statement.
The search continues at the Thornton’s Recycling facility at Killeen Road, Ballyfermot after two body parts, an upper and a lower leg were found on Friday.
The gender was determined by Deputy State Pathologist Dr Michael Curtis. who carried out a DNA analysis at Tallaght hospital. Gardaí do not yet know the race, nationality, age or cause of death of the person.
Investigators have requested the services of a forensic anthropologist to determine further information.
Gardaí expect the investigation at the plant to continue for a few more days. They will focus on establishing the identify of the man and determining the cause of death.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Ballyfermot Garda Station on 01-6667200.
The investigation has been assigned all the resources of a murder inquiry, Garda sources said.
In the past, deceased homeless people have been found in mounds of rubbish at waste disposal plants after climbing into industrial bins and suffocating or being crushed when tipped into refuse trucks while asleep. However, in the small number of those cases in the Republic, the human remains have been intact and fully clothed.
It is possible the remains found in Ballyfermot represent medical waste arising from amputations that had been accidentally disposed of in a regular refuse collection.
However, gardaí are fearful a murder may have been committed and the remains dismembered and dumped in refuse in a bid to conceal the crime.
Work is suspended at the plant for much of the weekend as gardaí search for any other missing body parts. The routes of the trucks whose refuse created the load in which the body parts were found are also being studied in an effort to determine where the body parts might have come from.