Application of maxillary sinus and nasal aperture morphology for forensic identification with the aid of CBCT imaging: A review

Bone remodelling of the cranium determines the enlargement of the maxillary sinus. The process involves the resorption of the internal walls of the maxillary sinus minutely exceeding the growth of maxilla. During this process, there is bone deposition taking place at the medial border of the nasal cavity, and simultaneous resorption of the lateral wall of the nasal cavity causing differences in quantitative measurements of the nasal aperture too. Maxillary sinuses have been reported to stay intact even though the skull and other bones of the cranium may be severely disfigured in victims who are incinerated or during external trauma. Any morphometric measurements like the width, the depth or the height may be used to investigate the accuracy and reliability of maxillary sinus data for purpose of human identification and sex estimation. These dimensions can be correlated with the measurements of the nasal aperture and this will also give an insight into the role of the midface in development of the cranium. These measurements are also important anthropometric parameters for classifying the race of an individual whose identity is unknown.