Role of Craniometric Measurements In Stature Identification In Indian Population

Introduction: Forensic odontology applies dental sciences in legal investigations and primarily focuses upon identification of individuals by comparing dental records to on-site findings such as bite marks, dental remains, fragmentary remains etc. Stature is the height of the person in upright position and is a genetically pre-determined factor for each individual; therefore, stature estimation, among the four pillars of forensic odontology, is influential in forensic assessment. It may be estimated by craniometric measurements on the principle that bones are often correlated positively with stature- justifying the purpose of the investigation. Objective: The study aims to estimate a relationship between the stature of an individual on the basis of craniometric measurements. Materials and methods: The study group comprises of 74 participants (aged 18+) with normal growth and development. The measurement of height was made by making the participant stand upright on a flat horizontal surface. Following craniometric measurements were taken using measuring tape: • Maximum Head Length- distance between glabella and the opisthocranium. • Horizontal head circumference- it is the maximum circumference of the head (mostly horizontally above the eyebrow ridge) • Maximum head breadth- maximum biparietal diameter (distance between lateral most points of parietal bone) Result: The data was analyzed using SPSS software to estimate the height of an individual based on craniometric measurements. The regression equation with r and r2 values with standard estimate of error was calculated to identify the most suitable predictor for stature. Conclusion:Correlation of height and craniometric measurements were done using simple linear regression. The best parameter recorded was with respect to head circumference with r value 0.372 and SEE 8.3551 while insignificant correlation was found with Maximum head length (MHL) and maximum head breadth (MHB).