Sexual Dimorphism in Clivus Morphometry: A Multi-Detector Computed Tomography Study

Objectives One of the most challenging tasks in forensic science is identifying a person from the fragments of an incomplete skeleton. Different landmarks in the human skeleton have been established to create the profile of an individual and only a few morphometric studies have been conducted to assess the clivus bone. This study utilized reconstructed computed tomographic (CT) images of the cranium to assess the dimension of the clivus bone and estimate its significance for sexual dimorphism. Material and Methods A total of 125 patients were included in the study and the dimension of the clivus bone was assessed using the Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM)Viewer. Results In the Gujarat population, the average clivus bone measured 4.09±0.577 cm in length and 2.69±0.617 cm in width. A significant difference in the clivus length was found, with a p-value <0.001. The overall cut-off value for sex prediction was 0.211, with a classification accuracy of 90.3% for males and 96.8% for females. Conclusion This study concludes that reconstructed CT images can be used for accurate anatomical morphometry and the length of the clivus bone can be used to identify the sex of an individual when other methods are indecisive.