Morphological And Morphometric analysis of Human External Ear with Its Implications in Sex and Stature Estimation -- A Preliminary Observational Study.

Background: The human ear is unique to individuals, and ear prints, like fingerprints, are discrete enough to distinguish identical twins. Thus, this study aimed to estimate the stature and sex using various morphometric parameters and morphological features of the external ear for forensic identification.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional observational study involving 40 participants recruited using simple random sampling technique. Eighteen measurements were taken, and various morphological features were noted for both the right and left ears. A digital Vernier caliper was used to measure all linear parameters. The angles were measured using a goniometer. Normal distribution was verified using the Shapiro-Wilk test. For normally distributed parameters, an independent t-test was used, and for non-normally distributed parameters, the Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare sexes. To compare the right and left parameters, independent t-tests (for normally distributed data) and Mann-Whitney U tests (for non-normally distributed data) were applied. Sex determination and stature estimation were performed using logistic regression analysis.

Results: In males and females, the most common shape was oval (47.5%), and the ear lobe was free (45%). When comparing the parameters of males on the right and left sides, it was noticed that only the ear inclination angle and concha mastoid angle showed significant differences (p < 0.05). It was seen that the right lobe width showed perfect separation, indicating its potential as an extremely reliable predictor of sex. It was noted that in females, the strongest correlation with height was with the ear inclination angle on both sides.

Conclusion: We can conclude from the results of this study that the right lobe width of external ear can be a reliable predictor of sex. Ear inclination angle on both sides showed strongest correlation with height. The results of this study can help forensic anthropologists identify the sex and stature of a person from various ear measurements in young South Indian adults.