Estimation of sex from mastoid triangle - a craniometric analysis

Estimation of sex is an important step in the evaluation of unknown human remains. Human skulls are shown to exhibit sexual dimorphism. The objective of the present study was to assess the mastoid region in sexing of unknown skulls. The present study was conducted on 118 (69 males and 49 females) dry skulls in a Medical College at India. The dimensions, area, perimeter, and the angles of the mastoid triangle were analysed for their utility in sex estimation. Non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test was employed to study the sex differences in the different variables. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve was used for testing the overall ability of the variables in sex estimation. The present investigation confirms the low accuracy of the mastoid region in sex estimation. The study concludes that the mastoid triangle is a poor indicator of sex, and of limited significance without population reference.