The use of crista galli morphology and morphometry in sex determination: a cone-beam computed tomography study

The morphology of crista galli (CG) varies from one individual to another and its structure may be pneumatized or compact bone. This study purposed to investigate the morphometry of the CG on cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans, to apply morphological classification based on the characteristics of the CG morphometry and to analyse the association of morphological and morphometric features with sex.

The width, length, and height of the CG were calculated on the CBCT scans of 400 patients (233 females, 167 males). The CG was categorised into three morphological types and the presence of the CG pneumatization and the Keros classification were examined.

The average length of the CG was 12.93 ± 2.12 mm, the average width of CG was 4.79 ± 1.54 mm, and the average height of CG was 16.21 ± 2.73. There was no statistical difference between sexes in both height and length values. The mean CG width of female patients was found to be statistically significantly higher than that of male patients. No statistically significant difference was determined between the morphological types of CG and sex. For width only, the area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve was found to be significantly higher than 0.5 and the cutoff value for the width parameter was determined as 4 mm.

The morphologic and morphometric features of CG, presence of pneumatization and relation of the anatomy of olfactory region to CG can be analysed in detail using CBCT. The mean CG width of female patients was found significantly higher than that of male patients. However, further studies with different populations and modalities are needed to evaluate the relationship between morphologic and morphometric features of CG and sex.