FACIAL RECONSTRUCTION - UTILIZATION OF COMPUTERIZED-TOMOGRAPHY TO MEASURE FACIAL TISSUE THICKNESS IN A MIXED RACIAL POPULATION

Reconstruction of human faces on skeletal remains is dependant on the facial tissue thickness measurements most of which have been derived f rom cadaver material using the needle probe technique. Dehydration of soft tissue after death casts doubt on the efficacy of these measureme nts. No study exists in which the facial tissues of a mixed population group in South Africa have been measured. The utilization of computer ized tomography to measure facial tissue thickness as an adjunct to sc ans for facial sinus disease was employed and allowed the measurement of the thickness of facial soft tissues according to Rhine and Campbel l (J. Forensic Sci. 1980: 25; 847-858). The sample consisted of 32 pat ients, 16 M and 16 F, age range 12 to 71 years. Comparison between the facial tissue thickness of American whites and blacks with South Afri cans of mixed racial origin showed marked differences in certain anato mical areas. The faces of the blacks were thicker in most areas, those of the whites were thicker in the forehead and periocular area, but t hinner in the perioral and genial areas. It is concluded that the use of the computerized tomography scanning procedure to measure soft tiss ue depth is more accurate than the needle probe technique. The results obtained from this study are therefore representative of the variatio n in facial tissue thickness of South Africans of mixed racial origin for facial reconstruction purposes.