Análise antropométrica de mandíbulas humanas como estrutura anatômica para determinação sexual

Abstract

The forensic identification post fatalities is hampered due to cadaveric decomposition, with skeletal recognition being the initial opportunity upon establishing the sex of the analyzed skeleton. Recent studies demonstrate that the mandible can serve as a parameter in sexual diagnosis due to its susceptibility to masticatory muscle activity, which differs between sexes. However, it is noteworthy that ethnic factors also influence mandibular morphology. The present study aimed to establish a regional pattern for sex determination based on the mandible, through the analysis of ante-mortem and post-mortem materials from the target population. In 386 panoramic radiographs, the following aspects were analyzed: ramus height, body height, mentum height, mental foramen height, distance between condyles, distance between mandibular angles, distance between coronoid processes, distance between mental foramina, ramus width, incisura width, mandibular length from angle to mentum, distance between mental foramen and mentum, distance between mental foramen and ramus, mental foramen position relative to posterior teeth, and presence of a flexure in the posterior border of the ramus at the occlusal plane level. The results were assessed through statistical tests, and the recognized patterns for the region of interest were tested on macerated mandibles. It is concluded that the definition of male mandibles is based on the distance between condyles and mandibular angles, while female mandibles are determined by the distance between coronoid processes and bilateral mandibular lengths from angle to mentum.