Abstract
The palatal rugae are anatomical folds or wrinkles located on the anterior third of the palate behind the incisive papilla on each side of the palatal raphe. The rugae patterns have been studied for various purposes mainly in the field of anthropology, comparative anatomy, genetics, prosthodontics, orthodontics and forensic odontology. This study is aimed to determine the difference in number and pattern of palatal rugae in males and females. This is a prospective study in which maxillary impressions of 50 volunteers, 25 males and 25 females were taken and the casts prepared. The boundaries of the rugae were marked with a HB pencil and were observed with a magnifying glass following the classification used by Kapali, et al, (1997). Association between rugae number and sex and rugae shape and sex were tested using two sample unpaired t test. The study revealed significant difference in the pattern of converge rugae which were found to be higher in females than males, however, no statistical significant difference was found in the number of rugae between the two sexes. The rugae pattern can be an additional method of differentiation between the males and females in conjunction with the other methods used in forensic sciences.
Highlights
The palatal rugae are anatomical folds or wrinkles located on the anterior third of the palate behind the incisive papilla on each side of the palatal raphe
The use of palatal rugae for personal identification was first suggested by Allen in 1889.6 The rugae possesses the features of an ideal forensic identification parameter i.e. they are unique to an individual, can resist postmortem insults and remain stable after the completion of the growth
There was a significant difference in the converge type of rugae which was found to be higher among females (7.36%) than males (2.02%) (p = .0234)
Summary
The palatal rugae are anatomical folds or wrinkles located on the anterior third of the palate behind the incisive papilla on each side of the palatal raphe. The use of palatal rugae for personal identification was first suggested by Allen in 1889.6 The rugae possesses the features of an ideal forensic identification parameter i.e. they are unique to an individual, can resist postmortem insults and remain stable after the completion of the growth. It can be effectively applied in cases of completely burnt bodies; that have undergone severe decomposition, in completely edentulous victim’s etcprovided an ante mortem record exists.[7].
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