Morphometric evaluation of the frontal sinus in relation to age and gender in subjects residing in Davangere, Karnataka

Abstract

Objective:The main objective of the study was morphometric evaluation of the frontal sinus in relation to age and gender and to establish its forensic importance and application.Materials and Method:The study group consisted of 200 subjects (100 males and 100 females) in the age groups 14-20 years, 21-30 years, 31-45 years, 45 years and above. Posteroanterior (PA) cephalogram radiographs were taken using standardized technique. The processed films were traced and frontal sinus pattern was established as per Yoshino's classification system.Results:The mean values for length, width, and area of the frontal sinus were found to be higher in males as compared to females and area of frontal sinuses increase with age except in males who were 45 years and above. The left width, left area, and bilateral asymmetry in relation to gender was found to be statistically significant.Conclusion:The morphologic evaluation of frontal sinus is a useful technique to determine gender and seems promising in personal identification.

Digital radiomorphometric analysis of the frontal sinus and assessment of the relation between persistent metopic suture and frontal sinus development

“…Complete agenesis or aplasia of the FS has been reported to vary from 0.7 to 62% in different population groups (Aydinlioğlu, Kavakli, & Erdem, ; Çakur, Sumbullu, & Durna, ; Donald et al, ; Danesh‐Sani et al, ; Hanson & Owsley, ; Kim, ; Koertvelyessy, ; Moideen et al, ; Soman, Sujatha & Lingappa, ; Turner, ). The unilateral aplasia of the FS has been found to be more common than the considerably rarer bilateral one (Hodgson, ; Turner, ).…”

Imaginological exams of the frontal sinus in human identification

“…Regarding the type of image exam selected, it was verified that more than half of the studies used PA (posteroanterior) radiography. [14][15][16][17]19,20,22,[26][27][28][29][30] Thus, it was noted that conventional extraoral radiography is still the most viable and most used in the research, also emphasizing the increasing use, but still at a smaller scale, of threedimensional imaging resources, such as concomitant computed tomography. 10,13,18 In relation to the methodologies and identification parameters of the frontal sinus, the largest number of analyzes used both quantitative and morphological parameters.…”

“…Among all the parameters used to measure and classify the frontal sinuses, height and width were widely used to obtain asymmetry indices. 10,14,15,19,21,26,28,30 In addition to asymmetry, depth values, 21 volume 10,21,29 , and the anteroposterior diameter of the frontal sinuses 25,29 were repeated in several articles from the present analysis.…”

“…In 1987, Yoshino developed one of the most widespread classification methods in the world, taking into consideration the area of the breasts, bilateral asymmetry, the superiority of the area on one side, the contour of the upper border, the presence of partial septa, supraorbital cells, and orbital areas. This methodology is still used in the last years 14,15,21,26,18 in different populations and with some adaptations. In 2008, Cameriere et al 14 replaced some of the variables, such as asymmetry, with indices corresponding to the frontal sinus areas and the orbits corresponding to each side, performing tests of image proportions.…”

Forensic Study on Sex Identification Using Radiographic Morphometric Evaluation of Frontal Sinus

“…For this purpose, the ante-mortem radiographs, usually done for clinical reasons are compared with post-mortem radiographs taken exclusively for the identification of definite, individualized structures. 2 Dental identification has been regarded as one of the primary identifiers. The best-preserved part of skeleton after death is the hard tissue and thus for forensic purpose the skull is sometimes the most valuable part.…”