Frontal sinus as an identity and sex indicator

The present study explores the variability of frontal sinuses volume in modern Greeks and their potential use in the forensic identification process.

The sample consisted of 102 CT scan images from a modern Greek population. 50 (49%) were male and 52 (51%) were female. Ages ranged from 19 to 101 (mean age 70.6 for males and 69.6 for females). 3D models of the skull were constructed, and volume calculations of the frontal sinus were done with the software Amira 5.4. 10 CT scans were used to extract 2D frontal and lateral images that were used as proxies of antemortem X-rays which were matched to the CT scans using manual craniofacial superimposition.

The average of frontal sinus volume of male was 9,220 mm³ (±SD) and female was 5,880 mm³ (±SD). Mann-Witney test confirmed that mean values were significantly different (P<0.05) between them. Pearson's correlation coefficient showed no evident correlation between the volumes and ages of the skulls in both groups. Using the lateral and anterior oriented radiographs for matching the sinuses, the method produced 60% sensitivity / 99.32% specificity and 80% sensitivity / 99.97% specificity, respectively.

Even though there are statistically significant differences in the shape and volume between sexes, these are not sufficient to be used as an indicator of sex in worldwide populations. The results indicate that using the anterior view of the frontal sinuses is more consistent in human identification, and that the method proves to be reliable, as long as the sinus is adequately observed on the radiograph.