Establishment of Cephalic Index Using Cranial Parameters by Computed Tomography in a Sampled North Indian Population

Abstract

Background: Cephalic index (CI) also called cranial index is the ratio of maximum breadth to a maximum length of head. The purpose of the study was to study anthropometry of cranial parameters using the computed tomography (CT) scans to establish the CI of the sampled population in North India.Materials and methods: The cross-sectional study was carried on the subjects of age group ranging from 6 to 95 years of either sex (total 1000 subjects; 540 male and 460 female) in the radio-diagnosis department of Era's Medical College Lucknow, UP, India. The measurement of maximum cranial breadth (MCB) and maximum cranial length (MCL) were taken on a CT scan machine and recorded for analysis. When associating the measures of precision for different subgroups, a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used for modest and efficient errors. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors affecting the CI estimation like age, interzygomatic length (IZL), orbital length (OL), MCB, and MCL.Result: Out of 1000 studied subjects, the majority 234 (23.4%) of the subjects belong to the 21-30 years age group. MCB of heads and MCL of heads in different ages and on applying the one-way ANOVA association was statistically significant and CI was statistically insignificant. Pearson correlation between the CI and other parameters like age, MCB of heads, and MCL of heads, and a statistically significant correlation was seen with each other. Dolichocephalic types of the skull are found more in male subjects, and brachycephalic type of skull is more common in female subjects. Conclusion:The average CI of our study was 76.67±3.18. This shows that northern India's dominant head shape, especially in the Lucknow region, was dolichocephaly. Thus, the CT scan is proven an essential modality in the assessment of cranial parameters in anthropometry.

The cranial capacity of the Saudi population measured using 3D computed tomography scans

“…Several factors have been presented in the literature that could affect cranial development, including malnutrition, access to medical care and health status. 1 , 3 , 12 , 16 Medical care and healthcare resources in the kingdom were limited when first started, which may have limited access to clinics and medical centers. 30 Nevertheless, undernourishment was also reported among children during the 1970s–80s; these factors can influence growth in general and cranial measurements as well.…”

“…Studies have documented well these racial differences across different populations, including Americans, 15 Chinese, 12 and Indians. 16 However, studies on the Saudi population are few and little is known about the Saudis’ cranial volume in contrast to what is known about other populations’ cranial volumes. This study provides normative data on the cranial volume of the adult Saudi population across age and gender using 3D software.…”

Predicting the Position of the Internal Landmarks of Middle Cranial Fossa Using the Zygomatic Root: An Attempt to Simplify Its Complexity

“…Anthropometrically, the Indian skulls are predominantly dolichocranic, that is, length is greater than the breath as compared with the Caucasian skulls that are brachycranic, that is, breath is greater than the length. 16 17…”

Analysis of craniofacial indices of dry crania in Southeast and Southsouth Nigeria

“…Therefore, it is important in the field of anatomy, anthropology, plastic surgery [1] craniofacial and reconstructive surgery, genetic counselling, orthogenetic surgeries and forensic applications [3]. Craniometry is equally important in population study and analysis of skeletal variation [3,4,5].…”

“…Cranial index (CI) is the ratio of the maximum cranial breadth to the maximum cranial length, multiplied by hundred. The CI was described by a Swedish professor, Anders Retzius (1796-1860) and was first used in physical anthropology to categorize remains of ancient humans found in Europe [4]. It is very useful in classifying human races.…”