Palatal Rugae: Systematic Analysis of its Shape and Dimensions for Use in Human Identification

Abstract

Establish a person's identity can be a very complex process, one of the main objectives of the forensic sciences. The analysis of the teeth, fingerprints and DNA comparison, are probably the most used technics, allowing fast and secure identification processes. However, these techniques can not always be applied, in some cases, it is necessary to apply different and less known techniques. In this work, a systematic analysis of the shape and dimensions of the palatal rugae was performed. We analyzed 120 subjects of both sexes, between 15 to 20 years olds, fully dentated, and by calcorrugoscopy were determined the shape, size, number and position of the palatal rugae. The most prevalent palatal rugae shape was sinuous (43%) followed by curve (27%), line (15%), point (11%), and polymorphic varieties (4%). The average number was 12.27, being higher in male than female. The palatal rugae that were larger were the sinuous (mean 9.58 mm). 40% of the rugae were found in the E quadrant, followed by D (30%), the rest was distributed among the other regions. The analysis of the palatal rugae and their features can be used as a reliable guide to the forensic identification. (English) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]