Binary Logistic Regression Analysis of Foramen Magnum Dimensions for Sex Determination

Abstract

Purpose. The structural integrity of foramen magnum is usually preserved in fire accidents and explosions due to its resistant nature and secluded anatomical position and this study attempts to determine its sexing potential. Methods. The sagittal and transverse diameters and area of foramen magnum of seventy-two skulls (41 male and 31 female) from south Indian population were measured. The analysis was done using Student's t-test, linear correlation, histogram, Q-Q plot, and Binary Logistic Regression (BLR) to obtain a model for sex determination. The predicted probabilities of BLR were analysed using Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve. Result. BLR analysis and ROC curve revealed that the predictability of the dimensions in sexing the crania was 69.6% for sagittal diameter, 66.4% for transverse diameter, and 70.3% for area of foramen. Conclusion. The sexual dimorphism of foramen magnum dimensions is established. However, due to considerable overlapping of male and female values, it is unwise to singularly rely on the foramen measurements. However, considering the high sex predictability percentage of its dimensions in the present study and the studies preceding it, the foramen measurements can be used to supplement other sexing evidence available so as to precisely ascertain the sex of the skeleton.

Morphological Analysis of Occipital Condyles and Foramen Magnum as a Guide for Lateral Surgical Approaches

“…Although some studies suggested these did not have a correlation with the sagittal and the transverse diameter of the FM [43], other studies reported a sexual dimorphism for FM dimensions with all parameters being significantly higher in males [44]. Kamath et al [45] found sex predictability (higher values in males) for FM area (70.3%), followed by sagittal diameter (69.6%), and least for transverse diameter (66.4%), similar to the study of Uthman et al [46] for FM area and Raghavendra Babu et al [47] with higher predictability for FM area and sagittal diameter compared to transverse diameter [9]. Rai et al [48] found OC and FM dimensions higher in males compared to females No stastistically significant difference was found in adults for different age groups for the OC [49] and FM [50].…”

Morphometric Analysis of the Foramen Magnum

“…In addition, foramen magnum morphometry is relevant in forensic medicine. For example, sex determination based on foramen magnum morphometry, albeit limited to some extent, is useful (Günay & Altinkök, 2000;Suazo et al, 2009;Ukoha et al, 2011;Edwards et al, 2013;Kamath et al, 2015).…”

Assessment of the opening diameter of the incisive foramen as a parameter for gender and age estimation

“…This might be the result of variables affecting the bone physiology, such as the ethnic miscegenation in the Brazilian population [5,23] or differences in the socioeconomic profile of the individuals [24], which were not taken into consideration here. Despite this, the morphological characteristics of the incisor canal (i.e.…”

“…In sum, one can find that there was a gradual increase in the mean values for both male and female patients regarding antero-posterior diameter, as shown in figures 5 and 6, except the laterolateral diameter in the former as there was a decrease in the mean value observed in Group III ( Figure 6). Nevertheless, due to these overlaps, we recommend the use of the opening diameter of incisor foremen with caution as a method for age estimation and, if possible, in association with other parameters [3,23].…”

“…Therefore, the necessity for research on methods with this aim, mainly from the third decade of life, is justified by considering parameters and factors related to different bone structures. This enables the estimation of age and gender with high precision and reliability in cases involving only osseous remnants available for analysis [5,6,22,23].…”