Craniofacial measurements of Malaysian Malays, Chinese and Indians based on the analyses of post-mortem computed tomographic images

ABSTRACT

Considering that the Asian group is huge and consists of many sub-populations in terms of genetics and geographic locations, it is imperative to develop population-specific standards for forensic practice. However, baseline data for a Malaysian population are not readily available. We wish to apply the methodology of Gill et al. (1988) on linear measurements of the mid-facial skeleton observed in physical skulls of North Americans to post-mortem computed tomographic images of Malaysian individuals, together with cephalic and nasal indices. A total of 300 skull scans of equal distribution according to sex and ethnic groups were examined by an experienced observer. Mean values (±SD) in mm for maxillofacial breadth, mid-orbital breadth, alpha cord, naso-maxillofrontal subtense, naso-zygoorbital subtense, naso-alpha subtense, maximum cranial length, maximum cranial breadth, nasal height and nasal breadth in males are 24.98 ± 0.54; 54.84 ± 1.72; 25.20 ± 1.26; 12.52 ± 0.44; 19.70 ± 1.23; 21.33 ± 1.09; 180.36 ± 4.78; 143.02 ± 3.47; 51.76 ± 1.18; 24.99 ± 0.35; respectively. Findings for their female counterparts are 23.58 ± 0.69; 52.74 ± 2.36; 23.38 ± 1.21; 11.19 ± 0.5; 17.71 ± 1.36; 17.55 ± 1.19; 170.45 ± 24.18; 137.75 ± 16.95; 49.19 ± 0.99; 23.87 ± 0.39; respectively. Even though these craniofacial measurements are not able to confidently separate the three different ethnic groups, our study presented the preliminary measurements of Malaysian individuals comparatively to other global populations specifically in the Asian region.

KEYWORDS:

• Forensic anthropology
• skull
• ethnicity
• Asians
• Malaysia

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the Director General of Health Malaysia for his permission to publish this article. We also thank Lai Poh Soon for assistance with collecting the scans.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Authors’ contribution

Conceptualization: Salina Hisham, Mohamad Azaini Ibrahim; Methodology: Salina Hisham, Mohamad Azaini Ibrahim; Formal analysis and investigation: Salina Hisham; Writing – original draft preparation: Salina Hisham; Writing – review and editing: Mohamad Azaini Ibrahim.

Additional information

Funding

No funding was received for conducting this study.