Male Skull & Female Skull (Part 1: Face)

Why hello there ! :) As we know, we've finished discussing Question 1. Let's proceed to Question 2! This time, we'll be exploring the world of Anatomy!

"QUESTION 2

Is a male human skull different from that of a female? If yes, how"

Really, do you think if there's any difference? 


Before we proceed, let us have a quick tutorial on the human skull for us to understand better as we go along this journey: 

Besides other body parts such as pelvis, skull is generally a good component for sex determination. The male skull would be more robust and, muscle-marked than female. However, absolute differences seldom exist! Thus, we are here to guide you through the obvious features you can look for!

Basically, we are going to discuss about the features of face, mandible (lower jaw) and cranial vault (the space occupied by brain).

Now, let’s find evidences on the face. Basically, we are tracing the supraorbital ridge, superior orbital margin, palate, teeth and zygomatic arch. Don’t freak out by the names! Continue reading and you’ll find them as easy as a pie! 

Below is a picture comparing the supraorbital ridge (brow ridge above the eye sockets) and superior orbital margin (upper margin of eye cavity) between the male and female.

Firstly, a more pronounced supraorbital ridge can be found on the male skull whereas a flatter one on the female. This is very easy to remember, isn’t the guy with thick and prominent eyebrow looking more attractive to you? *wink*

On the other hand, superior orbital margin (upper margin of eye cavity) is a feature dominant on the female skull. It is found to be sharper than the male.    

Following that, let's look at the palate of the skull (the roof of the mouth). The male has a larger size of palate compared to female. *Just recall that the men eat a lot more than women, so they have larger mouth, hence larger palate!*

Apart from that, teeth are a very easy element to differentiate sex!

Can you find the difference between Tom Cruise’s and Angelina Jolie’s teeth? Well, of course they are both dazzling white and clean, BUT do you realise Tom's teeth are larger than Angel’s? So, as you can see from this typical example, the male has larger teeth than female in general. *The same phenomenon with regards to palate can be applied here, men eat more than women, that’s why they have bigger teeth!* 

  

Picture below shows the position of zygomatic arch (cheek bone) on the skull.

Last but not least, you may find difference in the zygomatic arch (cheek bone). As in many examples, the male is in domination again. The zygomatic arch is wider in males and narrower in females.

References:

Bass, William M. 1995. 4th ed. Human Osteology:A Laboratory and Field Manual of the Human Skeleton. Specials Publication No. 2. Missouri