Demarking and identifying points-reliable criteria for determination of sex from external ear

Abstract

Introduction: The anatomy of the external ear is clinically and surgically important as it is related to the vital structures in the neck. The morphometric measurements of the external ear were undertaken to determine the sex of an individual. These findings also suggest that this study will have a role in plastic and reconstructive surgery; identification of dysmorphic features in various chromosomal disorders. Aim: The present study will enlighten us to determine the sex from the external ear and provide an insight in determining the variations in sex from the external ear with 100% accuracy. It may also serve as a guideline before surgical intervention in otoplasty so as to resculpt or reshape the ear. Materials and Methods: The subjects were 100 healthy male and 100 healthy female medical students of age group 18-25 years of Goa Medical College, Bambolim, Goa, having no history of any diseases or other genetic disorder or heredity diseases. The anatomical landmarks used for this research study were the right and left a) ear length b) ear length above tragus c) ear length below tragus d) tragus length e) ear breadth f) concha length g) concha breadth h) lobule height i) lobule width of the external ear. Results: The measurement procedure proved to be easy and it did not show any discomfort to the participants. Ear length below tragus, lobule height and lobule width were larger in females than males. This method was made applicable to all the parameters except for ear length below tragus, lobule height and lobule widths since these parameters were greater in females than males. Conclusion: In this study, we could determine the sex from the external ear in a large percentage. The parameters were of little value when subjected to demarking point analyses. However, for a larger population the mean values for the above parameters from different regions will have significantly different values and hence, DPs are to be worked out separately for the different regions. These DPs are much simpler to apply than multivariate discriminant functional techniques for identification of sex with certainty.