Morphometric measurements of mandible to determine stature and sex: A postmortem study

OBJECTIVES: Identification of humans has medicolegal relevance in civil issues involving property inheritance, marriage, contested sex, admission to educational institutions, and the disappearance of individuals. To determine the sex of human remains, forensic anthropologists usually use morphologic and metric approaches. This study was conducted to determine stature and sex according to mandibular dimensions in postmortem autopsy samples. METHODS: A total of 150 mandibles from people 18–65 years of age were studied. Stature and sex were noted, and six mandibular measurements were taken with Vernier calipers, flexible measuring tape, a protractor, and a graduated autopsy table. Statistical analysis of the measured parameters was conducted in SPSS software. Statistical parameters, such as mean, standard deviation, Spearman's correlation coefficient, multiple linear regression, stepwise regression, and Mann–Whitney U test were analyzed. RESULTS: Bicondylar width was the stature estimation predictor with the strongest correlation (r = 0.439). The other parameters significantly associated with stature were bigonial width (p = 0.000), mandibular angle (p = 0.004), and mandibular arch length (p = 0.000), according to Spearman's correlation coefficient. The mandibular angle had the greatest dimorphic statistical significance (p = 0.004) according to the Mann–Whitney U test. CONCLUSION: Bicondylar width may serve as a valuable tool for estimating stature, and mandibular angle can be used to identify sex. Our findings may help forensic anthropologists estimate stature and identify human remains.