title: Computed tomography based forensic gender determination by measuring the size and volume of the maxillary sinuses.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Identification of human body or remains after death is a forensic procedure, which is difficult to perform and is mandatory by law and in compliance with social norms. Sexing the recovered human remains is an integral part of the identification process. Maxillary sinus can be used for gender determination as it remains intact even when the skull and other bones may be badly damaged in casualties where the body is incinerated. Computed tomography (CT) provides an excellent method for examining maxillary sinuses.
  
  
  METHODS
  CT images were used to measure the mediolateral, superoinferior, and anteroposterior dimensions and the volume of the maxillary sinuses in 30 patients (15 males and 15 females) to investigate whether these parameters could be used to determine the gender of an individual for forensic identification. The t-test for independent samples was used to compare these values in males and females and the data were subjected to discriminative analysis using SPSS software.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Our method was able to predict the gender with an accuracy of 80.0% in males and 86.7% in females, with an overall accuracy rate of 83.3%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The accuracy rate in this study was comparable, if not higher than many other methods that have been used to predict the gender of an individual from skeletal remains. The length, width, height, and volume of the maxillary sinuses together with other bones could be used for gender determination with a fair degree of accuracy when the whole skeleton is not available.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology, Institute of Dental Studies and Technologies, Kadrabad, Modinagar, Uttar Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: Mukul
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Prabhat
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology, Institute of Dental Studies and Technologies, Kadrabad, Modinagar, Uttar Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: Shalu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rai
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology, Jamia Milia Islamia University, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Mandeep
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kaur
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Pathology, Santosh Dental College, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: Kanika
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Prabhat
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology, Institute of Dental Studies and Technologies, Kadrabad, Modinagar, Uttar Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: Puneet
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bhatnagar
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology, Institute of Dental Studies and Technologies, Kadrabad, Modinagar, Uttar Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: Sapna
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Panjwani
keywords: Forensic dentistry; X-ray; computed tomography; gender identity; maxillary sinus