Morphometric investigation of foramen magnum for determination of sex in Northern India region

Introduction: The basic components of a biological profile are: sex, age, height and ancestry. Among these four components, the first thing that is determined, is the sex of an individual. The aim of this study was to assess the Morphometry of foramen magnum for determination of sex in Northern India region. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted on 96 human adult skulls. Skulls were collected from museum of anatomy department of MMC, Muzaffarnagar and also from adjacent medical colleges of same geographical area. The region of foramen magnum was used since it is a regular structure and less likely to major morphological changes. A total of 12 measurements were taken from each intact cranial base with a digital verneiercaliper . Each measurement was taken in millimeters (mm) to an accuracy of 0.5 mm. P <0.001values were accepted as statistically significant. Results: The value of WIDTH OF FORAMEN MAGNUM ranged from minimum 29.9mm to maximum 30.5 mm with mean value of 30.3 mm and SD of ±0.2. In females the value of LENGTH OF FM ranged from minimum 27.2mm to maximum 36.9 mm with mean value of 31.3 mm and SD of ±2.08. Conclusion: In incomplete skeletons, metric analysis of the foramen magnum may provide a statistically useful indication as to sex of the unknown skull