ABSTRACT
Introduction: Cephalic index, the percentage of breadth to length in any skull. Cephalic index is useful inestablishing ethnic differences and affiliations and very useful to find out racial differences.Materials and Methods: The present study consisted of acquisition of anthropometric data for Gond tribe andnon-tribe boys from the same area. A total number of 279 Gond tribe boys and 282 non tribe boys were examinedfor the Head length & Head Breadth using spreading caliper. The index was calculated from measurement of thediameters of the skull. Descriptive analysis was carried out and comparative statistics was used to observedifference between Gond tibe boys and Non-tribe boys on various anthropometric measurements and mean,standard deviation, student, t- test, p value was computed to see the relationship between anthropometricvariables.Results: Most of the Gond Tribe boys were Mesocephalic (26%) and Brachycephalic (31%), while most of the NonTribe boys were Mesocephalic (27%), Brachycephalic (27%) and hyper Brachycephalic (27%). Few among bothGond tibe boys and Non-tribe boys were Hyperdolicocephalic and Ultra-brachycephalic.Conclusion: In the present study we conclude that not a single head form can be defining attributes of the twogroups. As head form of both GT and NT were overlapping most of them were Mesocephalic & Brachycephalictype. There is need to conduct anthropometric & genetic studies to backup these observed anthropometricsimilarities. Such data is of great medico legal and forensic importance which indicates that Cephalic Index canbe used as marker of ethnicity, and race as it is an important parameter in forensic medicine, anthropology andgenetics to know the sex and racial differences between individuals
ABSTRACT
Background: The description of the human body has been a major concern since ancient times. The use of medical terminology enhances reliability of comparison made between studies from different areas thereby contributing higher level of scientific evidence. Cephalic index is an important parameter in forensic medicine, anthropology and genetics to know the sex and racial differences between individuals. Facial index is useful index for forensic scientists, plastic surgeons and anatomist. The parameters are useful for plastic surgeons during treatment of congenital and traumatic deformities, identification of individuals in medicolegal cases by forensic scientists and identifying craniofacial deformities of genetic syndromes by geneticist. Methods: 170 males and 110 female adults from Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India region are included in this study. Anthropometric points for cephalic index were measured by using spreading calipers. Facial index measurements were taken by measuring tape. All measurements were taken in subjects sitting in relaxed condition and subjects head is in anatomical position. Cranial index and facial index were calculated as per the formula. Results: Maximum number of males with mean cephalic index values of 80.21 were observed as mesocephalic and female with mean value of 79.25 observed as brachycephalic. Regarding facial index males were leptoprosopic and females were mesoprosopic. Conclusion: Cephalic index and facial index were terms used by anthropologists, anatomists, plastic surgeons and forensic scientists to identify individual’s race and sex for treatment of craniofacial deformities.