Sex differences in the cranial and orbital indices for a black Kenyan population

Abstract

Craniometric parameters including cranial and orbital indices have been employed to determine the sex of a person in forensic medicine. These parameters are usually population specific. However, they have not been documented for a black Kenyan population. This study aimed at calculating the sex differences in the cranial and orbital indices. The cranial vault height, glabellomaximal length and orbital height and length were measured from 150 crania (80 male and 70 female) using a sliding vernier caliper. Cranial and orbital indices were calculated and the results were analyzed. The cranial index was 71.04 for the male and 72.37 for the female (P=0.095). The orbital index was 82.57 and 83.48 for the male and female, respectively (P=0.472). From these results, although the cranial and orbital indices are within range of previously reported values for an African population, they cannot be used independently in sexing of black Kenyan crania. Key words: Forensic, index, morphometric, sex determination.