Frontal Sinus Morphological and Dimensional Variation as Seen on Computed Tomography Scans.

Area of Science:

• Forensic Anthropology
• Medical Imaging
• Human Variation Studies

Background:

• Frontal sinus variation has been a key feature in forensic anthropology for positive identification since the 1920s.
• Advancements in imaging technology, such as computed tomography (CT), have enhanced data collection for analyzing these variations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate frontal sinus morphological and dimensional variation in a diverse sample.
• To assess the influence of assigned sex and population affinity on frontal sinus characteristics.

Main Methods:

• Computed tomography (CT) scans of 325 individuals from various ancestral groups were analyzed.
• Elliptical Fourier analysis (EFA) in SHAPE v1.3 was used for morphological assessment, while MicroDicom was used for dimensional measurements.
• Statistical analyses included Pearson's chi-square, ANOVA, and Tukey post hoc tests in R Studio.

Main Results:

• 3.7% of individuals lacked a frontal sinus, and 12.0% had a unilateral sinus (74.3% on the left).
• No significant morphological clustering was observed based on assigned sex or population affinity using EFA.
• Statistically significant dimensional differences (height and depth) were found concerning assigned sex and population affinity.

Conclusions:

• Frontal sinus dimensions are influenced by sexual dimorphism and population history.
• Frontal sinus morphology, as analyzed by EFA, does not show significant clustering by sex or population affinity.
• These findings refine our understanding of frontal sinus variation for applications in forensic identification.