Abstract: Age determination of unknown dead bodies in forensic personal identification is a complicated process which involves the application of numerous methods and techniques. Skeletal remains are less exposed to influences of environmental factors. In order to enhance the accuracy of forensic age estimation additional properties of bones correlating with age are required to be revealed. Material and Methods: Dimensional examination of the sella turcica was carried out on cadavers with the cranium opened by a circular vibrating saw. The sample consisted of a total of 90 Russian subjects, ranging in age from two months and 87 years. Results: The tendency of dimensional variations throughout life was detected. There were no observed gender differences in the morphometry of the sella turcica. The shared use of the sella turcica depth and length values revealed the possibility to categorize an examined sample in a certain age period. Conclusions: Based on the results of existing methods of age determination, the morphometry of the sella turcica can be an additional characteristic, amplifying the received values, and accordingly, increasing the accuracy of forensic biological age diagnosis.
Abstract: Human skull is shown to exhibit numerous sexually dimorphic traits. Estimation of sex is a challenging task especially when a part of skull is brought for medicolegal investigation. The present research was planned to evaluate the sexing potential of the dimensions of foramen magnum in forensic identification by craniometric analysis. Length and breadth of the foramen magnum was measured using Vernier calipers and the area of foramen magnum was calculated. The length, breadth, and area of foramen magnum were found to be larger in males than females. Sexual dimorphism index was calculated to estimate the sexing potential of each variable. The study observations are suggestive of the limited utility of the craniometric analysis of foramen magnum during the examination of skull and its parts in estimation of sex.