Anthropometry, Cephalometry & Cranial trait assessment with sexual dimorphism- a preliminary study

Sex determination is the tool for forensic scientists to identify the victims in the court of law. Most of the cases where the event has occurred over a long time back, where in only craniofacial remains are available; estimation through metric approach of craniofacial region becomes the most important criteria in identifying the sex of the individual. In this present study, six anthropometric parameters, five cranial traits and ten cephalometric parameters (five linear and five angular) were assessed on the thirty adult archival skulls of known age and gender. Among all these parameters, Head circumference (p=0.005), Nasal height (p=0.015), Head length (p=0.002), Cephalic index (p=0.039) and Mastoid area (p=0.002) differed significantly between genders. Also, visual assessment of cranial traits, indicated that as the score increased, male prediction became stronger which was statistically significant by Chi-square test (p<0.05). Finally, on Cogg’s Cephalometric analysis, Nasion-sella parameter produced higher values among the females suggestive of maximum anterior cranial base length. Using discriminate analysis, combination of supra-orbital ridge and mastoid area was deemed as the best tool in the assessment of the sex of the individual in the given categories. In conclusion, craniofacial dimensions can thus be used as a tool to clearly assess the sex of the individual.