Anat Cell Biol.  2016 Jun;49(2):151-159. 10.5115/acb.2016.49.2.151.

Binary logistic regression analysis of hard palate dimensions for sexing human crania

• Kamath V
• Asif M
• Shetty R
• Avadhani R

• KMID: 2308923
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5115/acb.2016.49.2.151

Abstract

Sex determination is the preliminary step in every forensic investigation and the hard palate assumes significance in cranial sexing in cases involving burns and explosions due to its resistant nature and secluded location. This study analyzes the sexing potential of incisive foramen to posterior nasal spine length, palatine process of maxilla length, horizontal plate of palatine bone length and transverse length between the greater palatine foramina. The study deviates from the conventional method of measuring the maxillo-alveolar length and breadth as the dimensions considered in this study are more heat resistant and useful in situations with damaged alveolar margins. The study involves 50 male and 50 female adult dry skulls of Indian ethnic group. The dimensions measured were statistically analyzed using Student's t test, binary logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic curve. It was observed that the incisive foramen to posterior nasal spine length is a definite sex marker with sex predictability of 87.2%. The palatine process of maxilla length with 66.8% sex predictability and the horizontal plate of palatine bone length with 71.9% sex predictability cannot be relied upon as definite sex markers. The transverse length between the greater palatine foramina is statistically insignificant in sexing crania (P=0.318). Considering a significant overlap of values in both the sexes the palatal dimensions singularly cannot be relied upon for sexing. Nevertheless, considering the high sex predictability of incisive foramen to posterior nasal spine length this dimension can definitely be used to supplement other sexing evidence available to precisely conclude the cranial sex.

Keyword

Binary logistic regression; Cranium; Forensic anthropology; Hard palate; Sex determination

MeSH Terms

Adult
Burns
Ethnic Groups
Explosions
Female
Forensic Anthropology
Hot Temperature
Humans*
Logistic Models*
Male
Maxilla
Methods
Palate, Hard*
ROC Curve
Skull
Spine

Figure

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  Fig. 1 The sutural morphology when all the palatine bones meet at a common point. CMP, common meeting point.

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  Fig. 2 The sutural morphology when the palatine bones do not meet at a common point. AMP, anterior meeting point; PMP, posterior meeting point.

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  Fig. 3 The incisive foramen (IF) to posterior nasal spine (PNS) length when the bones meet at a point. CMP, common meeting point.

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  Fig. 4 The palatine process of maxilla length when the bones meet at a point. CMP, common meeting point; IF, incisive foramen.

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  Fig. 5 The horizontal plate palatine bone length when the bones meet at a point. CMP, common meeting point; PNS, posterior nasal spine.

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  Fig. 6 Incisive foramen to posterior nasal spine (PNS) length when bones do not meet at a point. IF, incisive foramen.

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  Fig. 7 Palatine process of maxilla length when the bones do not meet at a common point. AMP, anterior meeting point; IF, incisive foramen.

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  Fig. 8 Horizontal plate palatine bone length when the bones do not meet at a point. AMP, anterior meeting point; PNS, posterior nasal spine.

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  Fig. 9 Transverse length between the greater palatine foramina measured in the study. LGPF, left greater palatine foramen; RGPF, right greater palatine foramen.

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  Fig. 10 The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve for incisive foramen to posterior nasal spine length.

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  Fig. 11 The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve for palatine process of maxilla length.

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  Fig. 12 The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve for horizontal plate palatine bone length.

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