NCJ Number
212909
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 51 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2006 Pages: 5-10
Date Published
January 2006
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This study measured soft-tissue thicknesses for 33 cadavers (19 males and 14 females) of Australians of European extraction in order to increase knowledge about craniofacial average soft-tissue depth.
Abstract
The study found that differences between mean values of soft-tissue thicknesses for males and females were small (2.2 mm or less), and considerable overlap was found between the sexes. This indicates that there is little practical value in distinguishing between the sexes in reconstructing soft-tissue depth for faces. Therefore, the data (means, standard deviations, and sample sizes) reported for Australians of European extraction were pooled across the sexes and the studies. When distribution frequencies of soft-tissue thicknesses at various locations were plotted, lack of symmetry (skewness) was found for some locations, which is consistent with other studies; however, further research is required in this area. The authors advise that if practitioners wish to produce "facial approximations" (faces that will reliably include many errors), they should use medians for soft-tissue thickness depths. On the other hand, if they wish to attempt exact representations, they should use modes; however, the effectiveness of either approach has not been tested. Soft-tissue depths were measured at 13 points on the head, using needle-puncture techniques. General descriptive data were calculated for each location on the head, and the difference between mean values for males and females were compared by using two-sample, two-tailed, unequal variance t-tests. 5 tables, 3 figures, and 41 references