Sex determination through the evaluation of sella turcica measurements using head CT scan.

Abstract

The estimation of age and sex is mandatory in forensic identification of unknown skeletal remains and it could be reached analyzing different bones' features. The morphometric evaluation of Sella turcica is less described in literature. Many studies have been published in this field for age estimation but none of them based on head CT scan measurement. Previous studies were carried out for age estimation on different populations, but any study has been carried out on the Italian population. Furthermore, no studies were carried out with CT scan technology for the correlation between sex and Sella turcica. Thanks to CT scan technology it has been possible to measure sella turcica's dimensions in an easier way than previous methods, to detect more accurate parameters and even introduce a new one. In this study, the sample was composed of 115 adults, 53 males, and 62 females. Five different measurements of the sellae turcicae were taken. The purpose of this study was to find new elements for sex assessment with the evaluation of sella turcica measurements, improving previous studies, analyzing an Italian European sample. In this study, results of the statistical analysis showed correlation between sex and sella turcica's parameter "Length of Sella Turcica" for which grater values are related to male gender. In conclusion, the Authors consider this unexpected result useful for sex determination in association with other parameters.