A Medicolegal Study of Ear Lengths in the Forensic Autopsy Cases.

Park, Eui U; Jo, Gap Rae; Kim, Youn Shin; Park, Sung Hwan; Kim, Dae Cheol; Kim, Gwang Hoon; Kwon, Il Hoon

Original article

Korean Journal of Legal Medicine 2006;30(1):51-54.
Published online May 31, 2006.

A Medicolegal Study of Ear Lengths in the Forensic Autopsy Cases.

Eui U Park, Gap Rae Jo, Youn Shin Kim, Sung Hwan Park, Dae Cheol Kim, Gwang Hoon Kim, Il Hoon Kwon

¹Department of Legal Medicine, Konkuk University School of Medicine, Korea. eup42@kku.ac.kr
²Division of Forensic Medicine, National Institute of Scientific Investigation, Korea.

Abstract

Authors measured the length of the auricle of both sides, and the length of face to know the medicolegal significance of them in 265 medicolegal autopsy cases. The data were analyzed by anthropometric study method to gain the ear-face height index (auricular length x 100/facial length). The results were as follows: 1. The relationship between the ear-face height indices of the length of life is statistically significant (r=0.34; p<0.001). 2. The relationship between the ear-face height indices of the length of life is higher than in females than males (males: r=0.28, females: r=0.51). 3. In the natural deaths and homicide cases, the relationship between the ear-face height indices of the length of life is higher than the accidental deaths and suicide cases, however, the natural death cases only show statistically significant relationship between the ear-face height indices of the length of life (p<0.05).

Key Words: Forensic, Autopsy, Ear, Anthropometry, Length of life