Evaluation of foramen magnum in gender determination using helical CT scanning

Objective: The present research was undertaken to study the accuracy and reliability of the foramen magnum (FM) and some cranial measurements in gender classification through the use of reconstructed helical CT images. Methods: 88 patients (43 males and 45 females; age range, 20-49 years) were selected for this study. FM sagittal diameter, transverse diameter, area and circumference were measured and data were subjected to discriminant analysis for gender using multiple regression analysis. Results: FM circumference and area were the best discriminant parameters that could be used to study sexual dimorphism with an overall accuracy of 67% and 69.3%, respectively. By using multivariate analysis, 90.7% of FM dimensions of males and 73.3% of FM dimensions of females were sexed correctly. Conclusion: It can be concluded that the reconstructed CT image can provide valuable measurements for the FM and could be used for sexing when other methods are inconclusive. Dentomaxillofacial Radiology (2012) 41, 197-202. doi: 10.1259/dmfr/21276789