Anthropometric characteristics of patella for sex estimation using magnetic resonance images

•The sexual diagnostic accuracy of patella for transverse, craniocaudal and antro-posterior lenght were 84.5%, 75.2% and 65.8% respectively.•The maximum transvers and craniocaudal lenghts were selected in the stepwise with an average accuracy of 85.7% in correct sex clasification.•Measuring the patella dimensions by the MRI method can be effective for sex estimation with good accuracy in the Iranian population.