ABSTRACT
In order to clarify the anthropological characteristics of the zygomatic bones that influence to the facial morphology, authors measured the metric dimensions of the zygomatic bones and observed the non -metric traits of Korean 192 skulls (122 males, 43 females, and unknown 27 cases). The results were as follows. In the anterior aspects of the skull, the bizygomatic breadth was 134.8 +/-6.0 mm in the male and 126.6 +/-5.5 mm in the female and the bijugale breadth was 117.3 +/-5.1 mm and 110.1 +/-4.0 mm in the male and female, respectively. The mid -orbital breadth was 53.5 +/-5.7 mm in the male and 52.2 +/-4.7 mm in the female and the bimaxillary breadth was 98.9 +/-5.0 mm in the male and 94.8 +/-4.4 mm in the female. In the lateral aspects of the skulls, the distance from the porion to the ectoconchion (oder - tiefe) was 71.1 +/-2.7 mm in the female and 69.0 +/-3.0 mm in the female and the distance between the porion and the jugale (ohrjochbeinlange) was 54.2 +/-2.7 mm in the male and 53.1 +/-2.7 mm in the female. The maximum zygomatic length was 54.5 +/-3.7 mm in the male and 50.5 +/-2.9 mm in the female and the zygomatic height was 49.6 +/-3.0 mm in the male and 45.8 +/-2.4 mm in the female. The incidences of the absence of the zygomaticofacial foramina and the zygomaticotemporal foramina were 12.0% and 7.3%, respectively. The average number of the zygomaticofacial and the zygomaticotemporal foramina was 1.7 and 0.8, respectively. The positions of these foramina located on the bodies of the zygomatic bones in many cases, and the other cases were that these foramina located on the frontal processes of the zygomatic bones or on the borderlines of the body and frontal process.