Human identification established by the analysis of frontal sinus seen in anteroposterior skull radiographs using the mento-naso technique: a forensic case report

Introduction: Human identification is a challenging task, especially when the available information detected during the dental autopsy is scarce. In this context, distinctive morphological information may play a valuable role as additional and alternative identifiers. Objective: To report a case of human identification aided by the morphological analysis of the frontal sinus through anteroposterior radiographs of the skull with the mento-naso technique. Material and methods: The body of an edentulous adult male highly decomposed was referred to the local medico-legal institute for identification. The alleged relatives of the victim provided the comparative antemortem data (AM) – consisting of an anteroposterior (AP) skull radiograph taken with mento-naso projection. A postmortem AP radiograph of the deceased was taken in order to reproduce the AM data and to enable a comparative procedure. Results: The morphological information of the frontal sinuses converged between AM and PM radiographs both for metric and nonmetric evidences. Conclusion: The analysis of the frontal sinus may be an additional and alternative approach for human identification – especially for edentulous victims