An autopsy study of determination of sex from measurements from hyoid bone

Whenever unknown or decomposed or mutilated dead bodies or isolated body parts or skeletal remains are found, the first step of the police investigation is to establish the identity of the deceased. Determination of sex from dismembered body parts can play a vital role in the identification of the person. The present study was done to find out the usefulness of various measurements of the hyoid bone to determine the sex and to derive an appropriate formula to determine sex from measurements of hyoid bone for a population in and around the Rajkot region of Gujarat. The present study was conducted in the Forensic Medicine and Toxicology Department at P.D.U. Govt. Medical College, Rajkot, during the period of January 2015 to December 2015. The study population were randomly selected and conducted on a total of 150 individuals, 75 male and 75 female adults varying in age from 17–75 years. All the studied parameters were greater in males than in females. Distance from anterior middle of the body to line that connects distal parts of greater cornua shows highest gender difference (74.6%) followed by distance from anterior middle of the body to the line that connects distal parts of lesser cornua (66%), distance between distal parts of greater cornua (60%), length of left greater cornua (58%).