Sex Determination Using Canine Dimorphism: Forensic Relevance

Gender estimation is an important aspect of personal identification and thus, has an immense forensic relevance. When an unidentified human body is encountered at a crime scene, it becomes important to establish its identity, for further legal procedures and also to hand over the body to its authorized family. The personal identification is established by determining the gender, age, stature and race of an individual followed by individual features identification. The gender estimation being an important part of personal identification needs to be determined first. This is a crucial step in establishing the personal identity of an individual, because the age and stature determination is dependent on the gender of the individual. The process of personal identification begins by narrowing down a cluster of individuals step by step till the individual we are looking for is finally identified. Thus, the role of sexual dimorphism comes into play. Secondary sexual characteristics are one of the most easy and frequently used methods. However, it should[1-6].Canines and sex determinationbe kept in mind that in certain cases, the body encountered may be decomposed beyond recognition or may be mutilated, where secondary sexual characteristics may play no role. Hence, with forensic aspect, the dimorphism in the teeth can be of immense significance. It may be a great forensic tool for the determination of sex from the human remains, because it is highly resistant to decay. In 1973, a study established certain differences in the canine teeth of both the human genders. [1] Subsequently, two more studies conducted in the year 1967 and 1989 respectively, further established the canine dimorphism among both the human genders.