Research Article Open Access

Evaluation of New Morphometric Parameters for Sex Determination of Human Skull.

Abstract

Estimation of sex, age, ethinicity and stature forms the basic pillars of medico-legal, bioarcheological and forensic anthropological studies. In the field of forensic anthropology, fragmentary human remains demand special approach, as they are inflicted by different types of inhumation, or physical insults. The basicranium is best suited for such studies, as it is well protected by soft tissues like muscles, ligaments and tendons, even in the most mutilated or disfigured remains of human skull. This article analyzes the performance of the diagnostic tests for sex determination by examining the basicranium, using the measurements of occipital condyles, which would in turn establish relationship between the sexes and their bilateral differences. In this study 100 skulls (50 male and 50 female) were obtained from teaching skeletal collections at the anatomy departments of government and private medical colleges at Nagpur and Udaipur. From these skulls the axial length of the occipital condyles (ALOC) and the anterior intercondylar distance (AICD) were measured using a sliding vernier caliper. Students ‘t’ test was used to compare the male-female and left-right measurements.The results showed that the ALOC (of both sides) and the AICD prarameters were significantly longer in males than in females (p<0.001). This study shows that these cephalometric parameters of the basicramium are sexually dimorphic and therefore could be used in sex determination protocols.

Pooja Gangrade, Ramavtar Saini, Rajeev Yadav, and Anamika Vyas

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