title: Mandibular ramus: An indicator for sex determination - A digital radiographic study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The identification of skeletal remains is of paramount importance in medico-legal investigations. The skeletal components most often investigated for gender determination are the pelvis and skull, with the mandible being a practical element to analyze sexual dimorphism in the fragmented bones. Presence of a dense layer of compact bone makes it very durable and well preserved than many other bones. Mandibular ramus can be used to differentiate between sexes and it also expresses strong univariate sexual dimorphism. When skeleton sex determination is considered, metric analyses on the radiographs are often found to be of superior value owing to their objectivity, accuracy, and reproducibility.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  (1) To measure, compare, and evaluate the various measurements of mandibular ramus as observed on orthopantomographs. (2) To assess the usefulness of mandibular ramus as an aid in sex determination.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective study was conducted using orthopantomographs of 50 males and 50 females, which were taken using Kodak 8000C Digital Panoramic and Cephalometric System (73 kVp, 12 mA, 13.9 s). Mandibular ramus measurements were carried out using Master View 3.0 software. The measurements of the mandibular ramus were subjected to discriminant function analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We observed each variable of the mandibular ramus to be a significant predictor in classifying a given sample (P < 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study on mandibular ramus measurements using orthopantomograph shows strong evidence suggesting that the ramus can be used for gender determination for forensic analysis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology, M. R. Ambedkar Dental College and Hospital, Bangalore, Karnataka, India.
authors.forename: Annamalai Ponnuswamy
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Indira
authors.forename: Archana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Markande
authors.forename: Maria P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: David
keywords: Discriminant function analysis; mandibular ramus; orthopantomograph; sexual dimorphism