NCJ Number
216809
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 51 Issue: 6 Dated: November 2006 Pages: 1376-1382
Date Published
November 2006
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This study examined criteria for distinguishing between male and female Koreans by characterizing the nonmetric characteristics of the mandible, which is the largest and hardest facial bone, retaining its shape better than other bones.
Abstract
The study found that the nonmetric method used to analyze the mandible could be used to distinguish gender for Koreans. Of the 107 modern Koreans examined (74 males and 33 females), the proposed method distinguished 92.5 percent of the males and 73.7 percent of the females. Of the 13 nonmetric features of the mandible, the characteristics that best distinguished the sexes was the contour of the lower border of the mandible; rocker-shaped mandibles predominated in males (68.1 percent), and most females (84.6 percent) had a straight mandible. In addition, the mental region of women was shaped differently than that of men; the shape of the chin in most males was square or divided into two lobes (91.7 percent), and the chin in females was square or pointed (54.5 percent). The 13 nonmetric items characterized were the shape of the chin, the profile of the chin, the contour of the lower border of the mandible, the shape of the ascending ramus, the profile of the ascending ramus, the divergence of the gonial angle, the presence of the mandibular torus, the inversion of the posterior edge of the ramus, the presence of the accessory mental foramen, the form of the mylohyoid bridge, the presence of the retromolar foramen, the shapes of the superior mental spine and the inferior mental spine, and the flexure of the ramal posterior border. Data were analyzed by using a chi square test. 4 tables, 5 figures, and 17 references