Morphometry of Skulls from North Indian Population: Implications for Ethnicity and Race Identification

Introduction:Anthropometric studies have shown significant variations in the cranium and orbits between races and genders due to various factors such as genetics, race, hormones, nutritional differences, and environmental influences. The present study aims to record cranial and orbital dimensions and indices to classify skulls based on these measurements. MaterialsandMethods: Thirty‑five human adult skulls were obtained from the dissecting laboratory and museum of Hind Institute of Medical Sciences, Safedabad. The orbital height, width, interorbital distance, maximum length, and width of the cranium were measured directly using a digital Vernier caliper. The skulls were then classified based on the orbital and cranial indices calculated. Results: The study found a mean orbital index of 83.42, classifying the skulls as mesoseme, and a cranial index of 73.15, classifying them as dolichocephalic. Conclusion: Basic data and records of morphometry of bones belonging to specific regions can help identify the ethnicity and race of a person. Understanding the correlation of dimensions of the orbital cavity and cranium is crucial in certain conditions, such as interpreting fossils, classification of skulls in forensic medicine, and discovering trends in evolution and racial differences. These findings may also aid in identifying unclaimed bodies in India, which are found in significant numbers yearly

Los tipos craneométricos caninos aparecen bien expresados a nivel de conformación del arco cigomático / Craneometric canine types are well expressed at the level of the zygomatic arch conformation

Dentro del espectro de conformación del cráneo, se reconocen generalmente tres amplias categorías que se corresponden con el concepto de biotipo cefálico, determinado por el Índice Cefálico. El Estos tres biotipos cefálicos son: el braquiocefálico, mesaticefálico y dolicocefálico, pero están basados en medidas lineales. A fin de revisar esta clasificación en base a su geometría, se estudiaron 53 cráneos de perros adultos, correspondientes a los tres grupos craneométricos descritos: 16 braquicéfalos, 20 mesaticéfalos y 17 dolicocéfalos. Para ello se obtuvieron fotografías en el plano ventral, en las que posteriormente se ubicaron 17 hitos anatómicos que se analizaron mediante técnicas de morfometría geométrica. De estos hitos, 5 correspondían a la zona neurocraneal y el resto al esplacnocráneo. Los tres grupos craneométricos mostraron diferencias estadísticamente significativas entre ellos tanto por el tamaño como por la forma. Las variables que contribuyeron más a explicar la diferenciación fueron las ubicadas en el margen más lateral de los arcos cigomáticos y en la base de este mismo arco. Las variables esplacnocraneales presentaban una alometría mucho más marcada que las neurocráneos. Puesto que el arco cigomático debe ser considerado como parte del esplacnocráneo, sugerimos que es tan importante el índice cefálico (que tiene en cuenta la máxima anchura de la cabeza) como el facial (que tiene en cuenta la máxima anchura de la cara). La conformación neurocraneal sería mucho más conservativa y por ende el índice craneal, de mucho menor poder discriminatorio entre grupos. El cambio entre tipos se debería a los músculos masetero y temporal, que tienen su inserción en el arco.

Within the wide conformation of skull spectrum, there are generally three recognized broad categories that correspond to the concept of cephalic biotype, determined by the cephalic index. The three cephalic biotypes are: brachiocephalic, mesaticephalic and dolichocephalic, which are based on linear measures. In order to revise this classification based on its geometry, we studied 53 skulls of adult dogs, corresponding to the three craneometric groups previously described: 16 brachycephalic, 20 mesaticephalic and 17 dolichocephalic. Images on ventral plane were obtained and 17 anatomical landmarks were subsequently located and analyzed by means of geometric morphometric techniques. Five of those landmarks corresponded to the neurocraneal area and the rest of the splanchnocranium. The three craneometric groups showed statistically significant differences between them for both size and shape. The variables that contributed to the differentiation between them were located along the edge of the zygomatic arches and on the basis of this arch. Splanchnocranial variables also presented a much more marked allometry than the neurocraneal variables. Since the zygomatic arch should be considered as part of the splanchnocranium, we suggest that the cephalic index (which takes into account the maximum width of the head) is as important as the facial index (which takes into account the maximum width of the face). The neurocraneal index would be much more conservative, and therefore less discriminatory between the groups.

Anthropometric Evaluation of Cranial Indexes.

Introduction: Craniometric measurements are used inanatomy, anthropometry and surgical fields, especially inmaxillofacial and plastic surgery. The aim of this study was toinvestigate the cranial index values anthropometrically and tocontribute to the literature data.Material and methods: For this purpose, 30 craniumbones with unknown age and gender belonging to AnatomyDepartment, Faculty of Medicine and University of Cukurovawere used.Results: In this study, maximum cranial width, maximumcranial length, bizygomatic width, cranial height, upper faceheight and minimum frontal width were measured. The meanand standard deviation values of the measured values are;139.15 ± 9.89, 172.20 ± 7.90, 125.24 ± 9.47, 126.07 ± 6.23,65.07 ± 5.40, 95.33 ± 5.09 mm, respectively. By using thesevalues, cranial index, transverse cranio - facial index, cranialheight - width index, cranial height - length index, upper facialindex and fronto - parietal index values were calculated. Themean and standard deviation of index values are 81.59 ± 5.60,90.21 ± 6.69, 92.30 ± 6.16, 73.73 ± 3.79, 52.61 ± 5.52, 68.76± 4.86 mm, respectively.Conclusions: The results of our study were classified andcompared with the studies performed in different populations.We believe that the obtained data will contribute to theresearch and literature data in clinical areas.

Cranial index in a modern people of Thai ancestry / 대한해부학회지

The present research aims to examine the cranial index in a modern people of Thai ancestry. Ultimately, this study will help to create a databank containing a cranial index for the classifications of the people from Asia. In this study, 185 modern crania of people of supposed Thai ancestry were examined. They were collected from the Department of Anatomy at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand. The maximum cranial length and breadth were measured using standard anthropometric instruments based on Martin's methods. The cranial index was calculated using the equation ([maximum cranial breadth/maximum cranial length]×100). The mean cranial indices for the male and female skulls examined were 81.81±4.23 and 82.99±4.37, respectively. The most common type of skull in the modern Thai people in this study was the brachycranic type with a frequency of 42.7%, followed by the mesocranic (27.03%) and hyperbrachycranic types (25.59%). The rarest type observed in this study was the dolichocranic type (4.32%). The present study provides valuable data pertaining to the cranial index in a modern Thai population and reveals that modern Thai males and females belong to the brachycranic group. The results of this study will be of forensic anthropological importance to populations in close proximity to the location where the skulls studied here were sourced.

Morphometrical studies on the skull of indian blackbuck (Antelope cervicapra) / Estudios morfológicos en el cráneo del antílope indio (Antelope cervicapra)

The phenotypic appearance of the head of animal species depends strongly on the shape of the skull. The morphometric studies of the skull show that variability in the shape and proportions of bones is influenced by genetic and environmental factors. The present study was carried out first time on the morphometrical characteristics on skull of Indian Blackbuck. Craniometric measurements for 48 different parts of the skulls of Indian blackbuck were made in this study. All investigated features were expressed as Mean±SE. The craniometric measurements and cephalic indices had been compared with ruminants. The mean lengths of the skulls were found to be 20.68±0.02 cm, with the width and cephalic index to the magnitude of 9.54±0.03 cm and 46.12±0.12 cm, respectively. The cranial length, width and height in blackbuck were 10.40±0.02 cm, 6.13±0.02 cm and 7.13±0.02 cm, respectively. The cranial index was 59.00±0.11. The mean facial length, facial width and facial index were 11.53±0.08 cm, 9.30±0.01 cm and 80.67±0.44 cm, respectively. The mean weight of the skull with mandible in blackbuck was 182.37±0.54.

La apariencia fenotípica de la cabeza de especies animales depende principalmente de la forma del cráneo. Los estudios morfométricos del cráneo muestran que la variabilidad en la forma y proporciones de los huesos está influenciada por factores genéticos y ambientales. El presente estudio se llevó a cabo por primera vez en las características morfométricas en el cráneo del antílope indio. En este estudio se efectuaron mediciones craneométricas en 48 partes de los cráneos de antílope indio. Todas las características investigadas se expresaron como Media±EE. Las mediciones craneométricas e índices cefálicos fueron comparados con los rumiantes. Se encontró que las longitudes medias de los cráneos eran de 20,68±0,02 cm, con el ancho y el índice cefálico de 9,54±0,03 cm y 46,12±0,12 cm, respectivamente. La longitud del cráneo, ancho y alto en antílope indio eran 10,40±0,02 cm, 6,13±0,02 cm y 7,13±0,02 cm, respectivamente. El índice craneal era 59,00±0,11. La longitud media del rostro, ancho facial e índice facial eran 11,53±0,08 cm, 9,30±0,01 cm y 80,67±0,44 cm, respectivamente. El peso medio del cráneo con la mandíbula en el antílope indio fue de 182,37±0,54.

Cranial Index In North Indian Crania (Predominantly Haryanavi).

Shape of crania is seen by measuring cranial index in 150 (115 male and 35 female) crania. Crania were obtained from the department of Anatomy, Pt. B.D. Sharma PGIMS Rohtak. In males, 91.07 % crania were found dolichocephalic while in females 97.14% crania were dolichocephalic. Few crania were found mesocephalic (6.25% in males and 2.85% in females) in both sexes. None of female crania was seen as brachycephalic. Percentage obtained in present study is quite different from any other population studied as most of the crania were dolichocephalic. So it can be used as a tool to identify crania of this region.

A craniometric study of adult human skulls from Andhra Pradesh.

Background & Objectives: The human skull has been studied both metrically and non- metrically previously. Cranial index and other cranial indices are useful in differentiation of racial and gender difference. This study investigates cranial index of dried human skulls present in the department of Anatomy of three medical colleges present in three different region of Andhra Pradesh (India). Material and Methods: This study was carried out on 136 (77 male & 59 female) dry human skulls at Narayana Medical College, Nellore; Dr Pinnamaneni Siddhartha Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Foundation, Chinnaoutpalli, Gannavaram Mandal, Krishna District and Chalmeda Anand Rao Institute of Medical Sciences, Karimnagar (A.P. INDIA). Out of these, 20 skulls were of known sex. By comparison with skulls of known sex, sex of remaining skulls was decided. Results: The mean of cranial index in males and female was 72.47 ± 5.13. The mean of cranial index in males was 70.18 ± 3.39 and in females was 74.96 ± 4.31. Interpretation and Conclusion: Cranial measurements and indices offer the simplest and fairly accurate way of judging the similarities and dissimilarities when comparing skulls. Craniometry has further application in clinical specialities such as plastic surgeries and oral surgery with craniofacial deformities.

Índice craneano en grupos étnicos precolombinos del norte de Chile con deformación craneal artificial / Cranial index in Precolumbian ethnic groups of northern Chile with artificial cranial deformation

Durante el período precolombino, en el norte de Chile habitaron diversos grupos humanos, con notorias diferencias etnoculturales. Una de sus características fue la deformación craneana artificial usando vendas y tablas durante los primeros años de vida, existiendo dos grandes modelos de deformación: tabular que producía braquicefalia y anular o circular que determinaba dolicocefalia. La investigación pretende demostrar la relación existente entre hábitat, tipo de deformación artificial y forma de la cabeza determinada por el índice craneano. Se estudiaron 77 cráneos atacameños de ambos sexos, seleccionados al azar de entre 293 individuos exhumados del cementerio Coyo-Oriente, datados entre 300-1200 d.C. período post-Tiwanaku y que forman parte del Museo R.P. Gustavo Le Paige en San Pedro de Atacama, dependiente del Instituto de Investigaciones Arqueológicas de la Universidad Católica del Norte y siete cráneos aymaras con deformación craneana artificial pertenecientes al museo anatómico de la Universidad de Antofagasta. Todos los cráneos fueron analizados, fotografiados y mensurados para determinar el índice craneano. Se comprobó que un 35,1% de los cráneos atacameños estaban deformados artificialmente, predominando la deformación tabular (92,6%), los cráneos deformados presentan un promedio de índice craneano de 92,63 SD 9,72, y con el 100% de los casos con braquicefalia. Los siete cráneos aymaras estaban deformados en forma artificial mediante el método circular o anular, con un promedio de índice craneano de 76,0% SD 6,66 y con un 42,8% de los casos dolicocéfalos. El análisis estadístico estableció diferencias significativas al 95% del índice craneano entre atacameños con cráneos deformados y aymaras, y además, entre índices craneanos de atacameños con y sin cráneos deformados. En el norte de Chile, los cráneos deformados artificialmente pueden adoptar formas braquicéfalas ...

During the period pre-Columbian in Northern Chile inhabited various groups, with notorious ethno-cultural differences. One of its characteristics was the artificial craneal deformation using bandages or boards from the first years of age, existing two big models of deformation: tabular that produces brachicephally and annular or circular that determinates dolicocephally. The investigation is to determine the relationship between habitat, type of artificial deformation, and shape of the head determined by the cranial index. We analyzed 77 atacameños skulls of both sexes, selected at random between 293 individuals of the Coyo-Orient cementery, dated between 300-1200 A.C. post-Tiwanaku period. These remains are part of R.P. Gustavo Le Paige's Museum in San Pedro de Atacama, wich is part of the Institute of Archaeological Investigations of the North Catholic University. In addition, we analyzed seven aymaras skulls with artificial cranial deformation belonging to the anatomical museum of the University of Antofagasta. All skulls were analyzed, photographed in all anatomical norms and measured to obtain the cranial index. We comprobated that 35.1% of atacameños skulls were artificially deformed with prevalence of tabular deformation (92.6%). The deformed skulls presented a cranial index average of 92.63, SD 9.72 and 100% of brachicephalic cases. The seven aymaras skulls were deformed by annular or circular method, with an average of craneal index of 76.0, SD 6.66 and 42.8% of dolicocephalic cases. Statistical analisis showed significant differences at 95% level of craneal index between atacameños with deformed skulls and aymaras, and likewise, between atacameños with deformed and undeformed skulls. In the Northern Chile, the artificial deformed skulls can embrace brachicephalic or dolicocephalic form, without predominance at territorial, epoch or cultural cause.

Determinação radiológica do índice e do tamanho craniano por mensuração dos diâmetros cranianos em uma população infantil brasileira / Radiological determination of cranial size and index by measurement of skull diameters in a population of children in Brazil

OBJETIVO: Realizar as medidas dos diâmetros cranianos obtidos por método radiológico e elaborar, por meio delas, o índice e o tamanho craniano, para comparar com as medidas dos diâmetros e os índices propostos por alguns trabalhos da literatura, principalmente os do estudo de Haas. MATERIAIS E MÉTODOS: Foram avaliados 732 pacientes sem doenças cranianas, medidos seus diâmetros cranianos e, posteriormente, formulados o índice e o tamanho craniano, que mostram as diferentes fases do crescimento do crânio, pelas medidas de tábua interna a tábua interna. RESULTADOS: O estudo comparativo das médias dos diâmetros, por medidas de tábuas internas, mostrou aumento do crescimento francamente progressivo no primeiro ano de vida para ambos os sexos e aumento menor a partir do segundo ano de vida. As médias globais dos diâmetros não apresentaram diferença significativa entre os sexos feminino e masculino. CONCLUSÃO: O índice e o tamanho craniano são bons indicadores do crescimento craniano, principalmente nos quatro primeiros anos de vida, quando o crescimento aumenta vertiginosamente no primeiro ano e, posteriormente, ocorre aumento moderado até os quatro anos de idade. Após esta idade, ocorre um leve e estável aumento e seu valor estatístico diminui. Não houve diferença estatisticamente significante, no crescimento, para ambos os sexos. Recomenda-se o uso dos valores médios dos diâmetros para ambos os sexos e sugere-se o uso do índice craniano, até os quatro anos de idade, e o tamanho craniano, após os quatro anos, sendo ideal para o acompanhamento do crescimento do crânio.

OBJECTIVE: To measure radiologically obtained skull diameters and, based on these data, calculating the cranial index and size to compare with diameter measurements and indices reported in the literature, particularly those reported by Haas. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The present study evaluated 732 individuals with no cranial disease, whose skull diameters were measured, Subsequently, the authors calculated the cranial index and size which demonstrate the different phases of the skull growth by inner-table to inner-table measurements. RESULTS: The comparative study of diameters averages by inner-table measurements has demonstrated a clearly progressive skull growth in the first year of life for both genders, and a slower growth as from the second year. Overall diameters averages did not present any significant difference between male and female individuals. CONCLUSION: Cranial index and size are good skull growth indicators, especially in the first four years of life, a period characterized by an accelerated growth in the first year and a moderate growth until the fourth year. After this age, a slight and stable growth occurs with a decrease in the statistical value. No statistically significant difference was found for both genders. It is recommended that mean diameters are utilized for both genders; and it is suggested that the cranial index is utilized until four years of age, and the cranial size after the age of four, as the ideal parameter for following up the skull growth.

Anthropological Characteristics of Jeju Population's Skulls / 체질인류학회지

The purpose of this study was to grasp the morphological characteristics of Jeju population's skulls and investigate the differences of the anthropological characteristics in comparison with those of several samples from the Northeast Asia and Korea. Data analysis has been carried out on the skull and angiographic of two hundred normal adults that had been taken with the multidetector-row computed tomography at Jeju National University Hospital between July, 2005 and August, 2007. The results were as follows. Out of the 30 criteria of the skull metric traits, 28 show measurement differential between male and female. The mean of man was greater than that of woman (p<0.05). The groups were classified into three categories: Chinese and Japanese group, Korean and Jeju population group, Mongol group as the result of the group analysis using eleven data (maximum cranial length, maximum cranial breadth, maximum cranial height, facial width, upper facial height, nasal height, nasal breadth, nasal index, cranial length breadth index, cranial length height index, and cranial breadth height index). There were four types dolichocrany (1.0%), mesocrany (13.5%), brachycrany (42.0%), hyperbrachycrany (43.5%) of skull in Jeju populations using the cranial length breadth index (p<0.05) and sex of skull types were not significant. We confirmed the difference in the size of the skull according to the human community by race, nationality, region and sex. There was close correlation between Korean and Jeju population of anthropological characteristics.