Morphometric Analysis of Foramen Magnum in Gender Determination: A Radiographic Study

Abstract

Introduction: Sex determination is a significant criterion in identification, and when all bones of the diseased skeleton are present, sex determination becomes slightly easy. Craniometric features can be used to aid in identifying an individual from a skull found detached from its skeleton. Foramen magnum (FM) dimensions tend to stabilize after the second decade of life and the reconstructed computed tomography (CT) images can provide reliable measurement of these dimensions. Aim: Estimation of FM in gender determination using CT scanning. Objective: To study the vagueness and reliability of the FM in gender classification through the use of reconstructed helical CT images. Materials and methods: A total of 40 patients (20 males and 20 females; age range, 20 to 49 years) were selected for this study. The FM measurements (sagittal, transverse, circumference, and area) were obtained from reformatted axial sections using helical CT scan. The FM sagittal diameter, FM transverse diameter, FM circumference, and the FM area were measured. Head width and circumference were also measured. Results: Multivariate analysis showed 89.7% of FM dimensions of males and 71.8% of FM dimensions of females were gendered correctly.