Journal de recherche médico-légale

Facial Soft Tissue Thickness in Forensic Facial Reconstruction: Is it enough if Norms Set?

Abstract

Gayathri Ramesh, Ramesh Nagarajappa, Gadiputi Sreedhar and Masineni Narayanappa Sumalatha

Facial reconstruction relies on the relationships between the facial features, subcutaneous soft tissues and underlying bony structure of the skull. If there is no clue for potential identity because of impossibility to compare questioned remains with possible familiar material, in such cases one of the last chances is to recreate ante mortem appearance by face reconstruction. Many of the soft tissue thickness values are significantly different from those reported for comparable groups, suggesting that individuals from different geographical areas have unique facial features thus requiring population-specific values. This literature review attempts to throw some light on the important aspects that has to be taken into consideration while setting norms of soft tissue thickness among various populations. To name a few are the differences among different skeletal malocclusions, differences in soft tissue thickness and the rate of tissue change among both men and women at different age groups.