Study of the Condilar Morphology in Cone-beam Computed Tomography Images and its Association with Biological Sex in Humans - Pilot study

Abstract

Introduction: human identification is an important study area in deaths from violent causes of various types. Assessing anthropological and anthropometric characteristics, sex can be estimated using bone remnants, including the skull. As part of the skull, the mandible is widely useful for making such an estimate as it has very evident qualitative and quantitative sexual characteristics. The aim of this study was to analyze a possible association of the different shapes of the mandibular condyles with biological sex in a Brazilian sample in a preliminary way. Methods: using the study by Yale et. al. (1966) as a reference, the morphologies of the condyles of 39 patients, divided into three age groups, were analyzed in cone beam computed tomography exams and classified in different formats according to the views in the coronal and axial sections. Image evaluation was performed using the OnDemand 3D software. Statistical analysis was performed using descriptive statistics in relation to condylar types in the total sample and by sex (absolute and relative frequency). Results: it was observed that type B was the most found in both sexes in the coronal section, and in the axial section, it was type 1 in the anterior view and type 2 in the posterior view, on the right and left sides, in males and females. Conclusion: it was concluded that there was no evident difference in this classification between the sexes, suggesting that the shape of the mandibular condyles doesn't have a strong relationship with sexual dimorphism in a Brazilian sample.