1.Morphometric and Morphological Study of Mental Foramen in the Malaysian Population: Anatomy and Forensic Implications.
Aspalilah Alias (AA) MMedSC ; AbdelNasser Ibrahim (ANI) MSc ; Siti Noorain Abu Bakar (SNAB) BSc ; Mohamed Swarhib Shafie (MSS) DMJ ; Faridah Mohd Nor (FMN) PhD
The International Medical Journal Malaysia 2017;16(2):47-53
The mental foramen is present on either side of the body of the mandible bone. This foramen
transmits mental vessels and nerves. In forensic anthropology, mental foramen may be important for
differentiating sex, estimating age and identifying various races based on morphology. The main aim of the
present study was to determine the position, shape and diameter of the mental foramen according to sex,
age and race by postmortem computed tomography in the Malaysian population. Materials and Methods: A
total of 79 dentulous patients (48 males, 31 females) from 3 age groups (18-30 years, 31– 50 years, 51-74
years) were selected for this study, and ten parameters were observed for each mandible. The parameters
were divided into two morphological and eight morphometric parameters. The morphometric parameters
were measured by using Osirix MD Software 3D Volume Rendering. Results: Results showed that mandibular
body length and height were significantly greater in males than in females by independent t-test. (p< 0.05).
However, the mandibular body height was found to decrease significantly with age in both sexes by one-way
Anova. It was observed that the shape of mental foramen was 45.6% oval and 54.4% rounded. About 44.3% of
them were in line with the longitudinal axis of the second premolar tooth. Conclusion: It was concluded that
mental foramen may be used for identification purposes, particularly for sex, age and race determination.
2.Optimization of forensic identification through 3-dimensional imaging analysis of labial tooth surface using open-source software
Arofi KURNIAWAN ; Aspalilah ALIAS ; Mohd Yusmiaidil Putera Mohd YUSOF ; Anand MARYA
Imaging Science in Dentistry 2024;54(1):63-69
Purpose:
The objective of this study was to determine the minimum number of teeth in the anterior dental arch that would yield accurate results for individual identification in forensic contexts.
Materials and Methods:
The study involved the analysis of 28 sets of 3-dimensional (3D) point cloud data, focused on the labial surface of the anterior teeth. These datasets were superimposed within each group in both genuine and imposter pairs. Group A incorporated data from the right to the left central incisor, group B from the right to the left lateral incisor, and group C from the right to the left canine. A comprehensive analysis was conducted, including the evaluation of root mean square error (RMSE) values and the distances resulting from the superimposition of dental arch segments. All analyses were conducted using CloudCompare version 2.12.4 (Telecom ParisTech and R&D, Kyiv, Ukraine).
Results:
The distances between genuine pairs in groups A, B, and C displayed an average range of 0.153 to 0.184 mm. In contrast, distances for imposter pairs ranged from 0.338 to 0.522 mm. RMSE values for genuine pairs showed an average range of 0.166 to 0.177, whereas those for imposter pairs ranged from 0.424 to 0.638. A statistically significant difference was observed between the distances of genuine and imposter pairs (P<0.05).
Conclusion
The exceptional performance observed for the labial surfaces of anterior teeth underscores their potential as a dependable criterion for accurate 3D dental identification. This was achieved by assessing a minimum of 4 teeth.
3.Study of sexual dimorphism of Malaysian crania: an important step in identification of the skeletal remains.
Abdelnasser IBRAHIM ; Aspalilah ALIAS ; Faridah Mohd NOR ; Mohamed SWARHIB ; Siti Noorain ABU BAKAR ; Srijit DAS
Anatomy & Cell Biology 2017;50(2):86-92
Sex determination is one of the main steps in the identification of human skeletal remains. It constitutes an initial step in personal identification from the skeletal remains. The aim of the present study was to provide the population-specific sex discriminating osteometric standards to aid human identification. The present study was conducted on 87 (174 sides) slices of crania using postmortem computed tomography in 45 males and 42 females, aged between 18 and 75 years. About 22 parameters of crania were measured using Osirix software 3-D Volume Rendering. Results showed that all parameters were significantly higher in males than in females except for orbital height of the left eye by independent t test (P<0.01). By discriminant analysis, the classification accuracy was 85.1%, and by regression, the classification accuracy ranged from 78.2% to 86.2%. In conclusion, cranium can be used to distinguish between males and females in the Malaysian population. The results of the present study can be used as a forensic tool for identification of unknown crania.
Classification
;
Female
;
Forensic Anthropology
;
Humans
;
Male
;
Orbit
;
Skull
;
Tomography, X-Ray Computed
4.Geometric morphometric analysis of malocclusion on lateral cephalograms in Malaysian population
Choy Ker WOON ; Nurul Aiman Abu JAMAL ; Muhamad Nasim Ilmi Mohd NOOR ; Syiral Mastura ABDULLAH ; Nurjehan MOHAMED IBRAHIM ; Noraina Hafizan NORMAN ; Aspalilah ALIAS
Anatomy & Cell Biology 2019;52(4):397-405
5.Erratum: Study of sexual dimorphism of Malaysian crania: an important step in identification of the skeletal remains
Abdelnasser IBRAHIM ; Aspalilah ALIAS ; Faridah Mohd NOR ; Mohamed SWARHIB ; Siti Noorain ABU BAKAR ; Srijit DAS ; Nurliza ABDULLAH ; Mohamad Helmee Mohamad NOOR
Anatomy & Cell Biology 2019;52(2):219-219
In the article, two co-authors were missing in the author list.
6.Distribution of frontal sinus pattern amongst Malaysian population: a skull radiograph study
Nur Damia IWANI ZULKIFLEE ; Mansharan Kaur CHAINCHEL SINGH ; Aspalilah ALIAS ; Helmi Mohd HADI PRITAM ; Eric CHUNG ; Rani SAKARAN ; Nurul Hannim ZAIDUN ; Choy Ker WOON
Anatomy & Cell Biology 2022;55(3):294-303
Frontal sinus has unique anatomical features that are distinct to every population. However, the distribution of frontal sinus patterns has yet to be explored in the Malaysian population. This study aimed to describe the distribution of frontal sinus patterns among adult Malaysians. 409 adult Malaysian posteroanterior skull radiographs, consisting of 200 males and 209 females of Malay, Chinese, and Indian races aged between 20–69 years old, were included in the study. The frontal sinus patterns were classified according to total and percentage of presence or absence of frontal sinus, symmetry or asymmetrical (right or left dominant), unilateral absence (right or left), bilateral absence, and lobulation. The findings showed that bilateral presence of frontal sinus is common, in 95.4% of individuals and bilateral absence was noted in 2.7% individuals. Unilateral absence was found in 2.0% of individuals. Asymmetrical frontal sinus was observed in 54.5% of population meanwhile 40.8% showed symmetrical frontal sinus. The majority of individuals, regardless of sex, race, and age, possessed 1 to 3 lobes on both sides of the frontal sinus. The findings suggest that the frontal sinus is highly asymmetric, and the absence of the frontal sinus is rare. This morphological variation provides an insight into the landmarking placement for measurement during forensic application and assists neurosurgeons in surgical procedure to avoid breaching of the frontal sinus.
7.Geometric morphometric analysis of malocclusion on lateral cephalograms in Malaysian population
Choy Ker WOON ; Nurul Aiman ABU JAMAL ; Muhamad Nasim Ilmi MOHD NOOR ; Syiral Mastura ABDULLAH ; Nurjehan Mohamed IBRAHIM ; Noraina Hafizan NORMAN ; Aspalilah ALIAS
Anatomy & Cell Biology 2020;53(3):378-378
8.Two-Dimensional Geometric Morphometric Method on Frontal Sinus for Race Estimation: A Lateral Skull Radiograph Study
Nur Damia Iwani Zulkiflee ; Mansharan Kaur Chainchel Singh ; Aspalilah Alias ; Helmi Hadi ; Eric Chung ; Choy Ker Woon
Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences 2024;20(No.1):134-142
Introduction: Race estimation of unknown individual is essential in forensic investigation. The resiliency of frontal
sinus makes it a potential tool for biological profiling, particularly in cases where fragmented skeleton persists. Geometric morphometrics is an efficient way to characterise shape. However, the use of frontal sinus to identify race of
Malaysians is yet to be investigated. This research employed a two-dimensional (2D) geometric morphometric to
examine the morphological differences of the frontal sinus among the major races in Malaysia. Methods: Lateral skull
radiographs which comprising of 453 adult Malaysian (151 Malays, Chinese and Indian respectively) were used. The
2D landmarks of eight were placed on the digitalized radiographs and 2D geometric morphometric analysis was
performed using MorphoJ software. Results: Procrustes ANOVA revealed a significantly different frontal sinus shape
(p-value < 0.05) between races. Canonical variate analysis showed significantly different frontal sinus morphology
(p-value < 0.05) between Malay and Indian as well as Chinese and Indian. Discriminant function analysis with
cross-validation demonstrated a 57.4% accuracy rate. Conclusion: This population-specific study based on frontal
sinus of Malaysians using the 2D geometric morphometric, though less reliable, sheds new light on the potential
applicability of this method for race estimation purpose.
9.Facial Muscles and Its Modiolus: A Review of Embryology, Comparative Anatomy, Morphology and Applied Anatomy
Razif Abas ; Choy Ker Woon ; Aspalilah Alias ; Mohd Amir Kamaruzzaman ; Nor Farid Mohd Noor ; Ahmad Mukifza Harun ; Nurul Huda Mohd Nor
Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences 2021;17(No.4):313-319
The modiolus of the face manifests the interesting landmark for facial muscles attachment. The strong connective
tissue fibres play an important role in the clinical setting, especially in the aesthetic and dental surgeries. In the fourth
week of intrauterine life, the development of the modiolus evolves in accordance with the growth of muscles of facial
expression. Microscopically, a white, tendinous structure with the thick irregular collagenous connective tissue of
collagen fibres predominance appeared to be the modiolus. Modiolus is morphologically a fibromuscular muscle
situated on the lateral border of the mouth. The formation of the nasolabial fold is important and a well-developed
modiolus provide a toned face. Several works of literature forementioned the number of facial muscles attached to
the modiolus but no definitive similarity are identified. This review summarizes the updated morphological features
and applied anatomy of the facial modiolus with its muscle attachment.