Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012 Mar;41(3):197-202.
doi: 10.1259/dmfr/21276789. Epub 2011 Nov 24.

Evaluation of foramen magnum in gender determination using helical CT scanning

A T Uthman  1 , N H Al-Rawi, J F Al-Timimi
Affiliations

Evaluation of foramen magnum in gender determination using helical CT scanning

A T Uthman et al. Dentomaxillofac Radiol. 2012 Mar.

Abstract

Objective: The present research was undertaken to study the accuracy and reliability of the foramen magnum (FM) and some cranial measurements in gender classification through the use of reconstructed helical CT images.

Methods: 88 patients (43 males and 45 females; age range, 20-49 years) were selected for this study. FM sagittal diameter, transverse diameter, area and circumference were measured and data were subjected to discriminant analysis for gender using multiple regression analysis.

Results: FM circumference and area were the best discriminant parameters that could be used to study sexual dimorphism with an overall accuracy of 67% and 69.3%, respectively. By using multivariate analysis, 90.7% of FM dimensions of males and 73.3% of FM dimensions of females were sexed correctly.

Conclusion: It can be concluded that the reconstructed CT image can provide valuable measurements for the FM and could be used for sexing when other methods are inconclusive.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Sagittal and transverse diameter of the foramen magnum
Figure 2
Figure 2
Head width measured from the axial section
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Holland TD. Use of the cranial base in the identification of fire victims. J Forensic Sci 1984;29:1087–1093 - PubMed
    1. Di Vella G, Campobasso CP, Dragone M, Introna F., Jr Skeletal sex determination by scapular measurements. Boll Soc Ital Biol Sper 1994;70:299–305 - PubMed
    1. Quatrehomme G, Fronty P, Sapanet M, Grevin G, Bailet P, Olier A. Identification by frontal sinus pattern in forensic anthropology. Forensic Sci Int 1996;83:147–153 - PubMed
    1. Günay Y, Altinkök M, Çagdir S, Kirangil B. Gender determination with skull measurements (in Turkish). J Forensic Med 1997;13:13–19
    1. Günay Y, Altinkök M, Çagdir S, Sari H. Is foremen magnum size useful for gender determination (in Turkish). Bull Legal Med 1998;3:41–45