Sex Determination of Adult Human Maxillary Sinuses on Panoramic Radiographs

The purpose of this study was to evaluate dimensions of adult human maxillary sinuses on panoramic radiographs and their possible application on the sex determination for forensic purposes. The sample comprised 64 database panoramic radiographs from individuals aged 20 years or older (32 male and 32 female subjects), with complete permanent dentition (or absence of third molars). One examiner measured the width and height of the right and left maxillary sinuses using the software Image J 1.47v (National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, USA). Measurements were repeated to calculate intra-observer agreement. Chi-Square test, Kappa, ANOVA and T-Student were used for results analysis for ps 0.05. Intra-observer agreement with correlation Kappa ranged between 0.38 and 0.96. For female subjects, the mean height and width of the left maxillary sinus were 28.7856mm and 44.6178mm, respectively. And right maxillary sinus was 27.7163mm for height and 45.1850mm for width. Male subjects were found to have the mean height and width of the left maxillary sinus 30.9981mm and 48.7753mm, respectively. And right maxillary sinus was 30.7403mm for height and 48.5753mm for width. There was a statistically significant difference in the height and width of maxillary sinuses between males and females. It can be concluded that maxillary sinuses height and width on panoramic radiographs can be used to determine the gender of adult human subjects.