Mandibular ramus- An indicator for gender determination: A digital panoramic study in Bagalkot population

BACKGROUND: In medico-legal investigations identification of skeletal remains is of utmost importance. The skeletal remains most commonly investigated are pelvic and skull bones with the mandible an important element to analyze sexual dimorphism. Mandibular ramus can differentiate between the two genders as the stages of mandibular development, growth rates, and duration are different in both genders. Metric analysis on the radiographs is found to be of higher values when skeletal sex determination is considered. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1) To compare and evaluate the various measurements of the mandibular ramus on digital OPG's. 2) To assess the usefulness of mandibular ramus as an aid in gender determination in the Bagalkot population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted on 80 patients (40 males & 40 females) using Kodak 8000 C digital panoramic radiographs of the Bagalkot population with ages ranging from 18 to 58 years. Five parameters namely coronoid ramus height, condyle ramus height, condyle coronoid breadth, maximum ramus breadth, and minimum ramus breadth were taken into consideration, the values were measured and data were analyzed. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS software. RESULTS: In the present study, all the measurements of the mandibular ramus on digital panoramic radiographs showed a statistically significant difference between both the genders except for minimum ramus breadth which was found to be insignificant. CONCLUSION: Discriminant analysis of mandibular ramus using panoramic radiography can be used as an effective tool in gender determination and can be used as an aid in forensic sciences.