Abstract
Introduction: Skull plays an important role, second only next to pelvis for sex determination. In skull, mastoid and occipital region due to its anatomical location is the most protected region, offering high resistance to decomposition and any form of tempering. With the intension of studying sexual dimorphism in the mastoid region involving mastoid process, we initiated this study. The technique we adopted was first introduced by Paiva and Segre, i.e. measuring the distance between three cranio-metric land mark (Porion, Mastoidale, and Asterion) and calculating the area of the triangle to study sexual dimorphism.
 Objective: The objective of this study is to determine sex based on mastoid triangle dimensions measured in 3D reconstructed computed tomography of the skull.
 Methodology: The study included 196, 3D reconstructed CT scan images of skull, 98 of which were males and 98 of which were females. The three craniometric points were marked to demarcate the mastoid triangle on both side (mention the software used).Heron’s formula was used for measurement of mastoid triangle areas.
 Result: Descriptive statistics and the student t-test revealed that males have larger mastoid triangle dimensions in all measurements than females, with a significant difference (p<0.000) between them. The paired t-test revealed no statistically significant difference (p<0.05) between the right and left sides. Apart from angle asterion (p<0.05) on the right side, no other mastoid triangle angles on either side showed a significant difference. The predictability of mastoid triangle measurements and areas was determined using a discriminant function and ROC curve analysis. The calculated mastoid triangle measurements and areas were 72.5 % of Asterion to Porion, 74.5 % of Asterion to Mastoidale, 86.3 % of Mastoidale to Porion, and 88.2 % of areas, respectively.
 Conclusion: The study findings suggest that mastoid triangle could be used to determine gender in the case of fragmentary skull remains by the forensic experts in the course of investigation. In order to generalize the data nationally, an autopsy-based, large sample size study on different age groups should be conducted.
Highlights
Individual iden fica on is of prime importance in mass disasters, road traffic accidents, fire accidents and in criminal cases, where there is inten onal dismembering and mu la on of the body.[1]
The study findings suggest that mastoid triangle could be used to determine gender in the case of fragmentary skull remains by the forensic experts in the course of inves ga on
Receiver Opera ng Characteris c was done for all the measurements taken and areas calculated
Summary
Individual iden fica on is of prime importance in mass disasters, road traffic accidents, fire accidents and in criminal cases, where there is inten onal dismembering and mu la on of the body.[1] Civilized socie es recognize the need for iden ty in living as well as in death. Iden ty of a person means individuality of that person.[2] The main objec ve of autopsy is iden fica on. Unknown bodies in full or in parts and at mes skeletal remains are brought for examina on at mortuary. Anthropological or biological iden fica on helps us in iden fica on by excluding the given popula on and in cases where DNA and figure print cannot be obtained. Alphonso Ber lion (1853 – 1914) created the first anthropometric scien fic system based on physical measurements for iden fying criminals in 1880.3
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