Anthropometric analysis of human mandibles as an anatomical structure for sex determination

Abstract

Forensic identification after fatalities is difficult in the face of cadaveric decomposition, and recognition by the bone is the first to be provided with the opportunity to define the sex of the skeleton analyzed. Recent studies have shown that the mandible can be used as a parameter in sexual diagnosis because it is susceptible to masticatory muscle activity, and that this is different between genders. However, it should be noted that ethnic factors also affect the shape of the jaw. The objective of this study was to develop a regional pattern of sex determination, based on the mandible, through the analysis of ante- and post-mortem materials of the population of interest. The following panoramic radiographs were analyzed in 386 panoramic radiographs: ramus height, body height, chin height, mental foramen height, distance between condyles, distance between mandibular angles, distance between coronoid processes, distance between mental foramina, branch width, incensure width, mandibular length at the chin angle, distance between the mental foramen and the chin, distance between the mental foramen and the branch, position of the mental foramen in relation to the posterior teeth, and presence of flexure at the posterior border of the branch at the level of the occlusal plane. The results were evaluated through statistical tests and the patterns recognized for the region of interest were tested in macerated jaws. It is concluded that the definition of male mandibles is given by the distance between the condyles and the mandibular angles, while female mandibles are determined by the distance between the coronoid processes and by the mandibular lengths of the marrow angle bilaterally.