Sex determination using mandibular anthropometric parameters in subadult Iranian samples.
BACKGROUND
Sex determination is the first step in the identification of corpses and skeletal remains. The mandible is the largest and strongest bone of the face and has high durability. It is known that skeletal features vary by population, thus the need to establish population-specific standards. In this study, for the first time, we investigated mandibular anthropometric parameters for sex determination in subadult Iranian cadavers.


METHODS
Eight mandibular anthropometric parameters were measured in 45 Iranian cadavers below the age of 20 (23 males and 22 females corpses), and the relationships of these variables with gender were determined. Collected data were analyzed using descriptive analysis, ROC curve, cross tabulation and discriminant analysis in SPSS 13.


RESULTS
No significant statistical difference was seen in the mandibular anthropometric values between the two genders in samples below the age of 12. In the 12-19 age group, accuracy of symphysial height and bigonial breadth in differentiation of gender was 69% and 86.2% respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
Although mandibular anthropometric parameters are not helpful in sex determination below the age of 12, if for some reasons such as explosions, air disasters and other accidents, only the mandible is available, symphysial height and mandibular bigonial breadth could be used to determine the gender with high accuracy.
Forensic Medicine Department, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Research Center of Legal Medicine Organization of Iran, Tehran, Iran.
Mitra
M
Akhlaghi
Internal Medicine Department, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran. Electronic address: zahrakhalighi@yahoo.com.
Zahra
Z
Khalighi
Forensic Medicine Department, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Shayesteh
S
Vasigh
Forensic Medicine Department, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Vahid
V
Yousefinejad
D000293:Adolescent; D002508:Cephalometry; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016002:Discriminant Analysis; D005260:Female; D005553:Forensic Dentistry; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran; D008297:Male; D008334:Mandible / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D012372:ROC Curve; D054881:Sex Determination by Skeleton / Q000379:methods*; D055815:Young Adult
Anthropometric parameters; Forensic identification; Mandible; Sex determination; Subadult