Cranial materials from the Oglakhty burial ground

In this article means of cranial measurements and indexes of the Tashtyk sample from the Oglakhty burial ground obtained as a result of analysis and integration of the measurements of G. Debets, V. Alexeev and I. Gokhman are presented. Also we updated the means of the pooled Tashtyk sample. It was demonstrated that the Oglakhty cranial sample cover the whole spectrum of variability of the Tashtyk population. The data on 37 male and 35 female Early Iron Age series of the Tashtyk culture, Early Tes tombs, Tes flat-grave burial grounds, Podgornovo, Bidzha, and Saragashen stages of the Tagar culture, were subjected to canonical variate analysis. The results of the analysis reveals that Tashtyk male and female series are very similar to the Early Tes samples mainly due to higher cranial index in both male and female samples and smaller nose protrusion angle in male sample. Describing the variety of options for postmortem trepanations of the Tashtyk skulls, we argue that the trepanation process was not a ritual in itself, but was a routine procedure aimed at extracting the brain.

Validation of Skully Care as a Fast Method for Quantifying Positional Cranial Deformities

Objective Craniofacial measuring is valuable for diagnosis and evaluation of growth and treatment of positional skull deformities. Plagiocephalometry (PCM) quantifies skull deformities and is proven to be reliable and valid. However, PCM needs direct skin contact with thermoplastic material, is laborious and time-consuming. Therefore, Skully Care (SC) was developed to measure positional skull deformities with a smartphone application. Design SC is retrospectively compared to PCM. Setting Pediatric physiotherapy centers. Patients Age ≤1 year, analyzed or treated for positional skull deformities. Interventions A total of 60 skull shape analyses were performed. Main Outcome Measures The main outcome measures employed are Pearson correlation coefficient between cranial vault asymmetry index (CVAI; in SC) and oblique diameter difference index (ODDI; in PCM) and between cranial index (CI; in SC) and cranial proportional index (CPI; in PCM). Mann–Whitney U test determined difference of time consumption between PCM and SC. Results High correlation was found between CVAI and ODDI ( r = 0.849; P < .01) in positional plagiocephaly and very high correlation between CI and CPI ( r = 0.938; P < .01) in positional brachycephaly. SC is significantly faster than PCM ( P < .001). Conclusions SC is valid in analyzing positional skull deformities and strongly correlates to PCM, the gold standard in daily physiotherapy practice. The combination of simplicity, validity, speed, and user and child convenience makes SC a promising craniofacial measuring method in daily practice. SC has potential to be the modern successor for analyzing positional skull deformities.

Morphometrical Study of the European Shorthair Cat Skull Using Computed Tomography

This study aimed to perform a morphometric analysis of the skull of the European shorthair cat by using computed tomographic images. Thirty-seven computed tomography (CT) studies of healthy cats’ heads were used for linear measurements and index calculations of the skull and cranium. The following values were determined: skull length = 8.94 ± 0.45 cm, cranial length = 8.21 ± 0.42 cm, nasal length = 0.73 ± 0.17 cm, cranial width = 4.28 ± 0.26 cm, cranial index = 52.18 ± 3.75%, internal height of cranium = 2.88 ± 0.29 cm, external height of cranium = 3.35 ± 0.12 cm, internal length of the cranium = 5.53 ± 0.28 cm, external length of the cranium = 6.32 ± 0.28 cm, internal cranium index = 45.62 ± 4.77%, external cranium index = 53.06 ± 2.07%, internal cranium and skull index = 61.93 ± 2.38%, external cranium and skull index = 70.70 ± 1.72%, width of the foramen magnum = 1.34 ± 0.07 cm, height of the foramen magnum = 1.01 ± 0.09 cm, and foramen magnum index = 75.37 ± 5.76%. It was also found that the population was homogeneous, with the exception of nasal length (NL), and that there was a sexual dimorphism present, with males exhibiting higher dimensions. This work contributed to characterizing the morphometry of the cranium and skull of the domestic cat, a knowledge of utmost importance for the diagnosis and treatment of conditions affecting this complex anatomical region.

Correlation of brachycephaly grade with level of exophthalmos, reduced airway passages and degree of dental malalignment’ in Persian cats

For many years, there has been a trend to breed cats with an increasing degree of brachycephalic head features, which are known to have a severe impact on the animals’ health and welfare. The direct relation between different grades of brachycephaly and their negative implications have not been researched in this species. The aim of this study was therefore to establish correlations between the different grades of brachycephaly and reduced upper respiratory airways, exophthalmos of the eye globes and malalignment of the teeth in Persian cats. Sixty-nine Persian cats of various skull dimensions and ten Domestic shorthair cats were recruited for the study. The cats’ skulls were examined using three-dimensional reconstructions created from Computed Tomography datasets. Brachycephaly was graded using established craniometric measurements (facial index, cranial index, skull index, craniofacial angle). The flow area of the nasal passageways at different locations, the amount of the eye globe not supported by the bony orbit and the axial deviation of the teeth were quantified and evaluated for a correlation with the grade of brachycephaly. The results of this study clearly show that increased grades of brachycephaly in Persian cats resulted in larger extra-orbital parts of the ocular bulbs. The brachycephalic skull dimension also resulted in a lower height of the naso-osseal aperture, while other areas of the nasal airways were not correlated with the severity of brachycephaly. Persian cats showed a significantly increased occurrence of premolar tooth displacement in the upper jaw with increasing brachycephaly grades. It was interesting to note that the measured values had a broad range and values of some individual Persian cats showed an overlap with those of Domestic shorthair cats.

Study on Human Cranial Index with its Sex Difference from Central Kerala

Background: Cranial index, primarily used as an indicator of race had been studied by various workers in view of its morphometric difference in sex prediliction. Hence it would be useful to identify sex of an individual from skeletal remains. Similar studies from our geographic region, if at all present might be very few. Aims and Objective: Based on maximum breadth and length of skull the study aimed at whether there was any statistically significant difference in the cranial index of male and female. Materials and Methods: We used 96 dry,intact skulls preserved in the departments of Forensic Medicine and Anatomy of various Medical Colleges in Kottayam, Ernakulam, Alappuzha and Pathanamthitta districts of Kerala state, India. Skull typed as male or female by observation method was measured for its maximum breadth andlength, cranial index derived and the data was entered against corresponding serial number. The data analysis was conducted using SPSS software. Results: The mean percentage values of cranial index for female and male were respectively 77.68±4.53 and 73.71±4.05 with the p-value noted as 0.0001from their ranks determined by Mann- Whitney U test whichshowed statistically significant difference in cranial index of the two sexes. Literature could reveal similar results in studies conducted by other authors. Conclusion: Hence this morphometric study proved that it is valuable to include the application of cranial index in the identification procedure of skeletal remains. Further metric studies in this field are needed with a wider usage of other indices.

A study to estimate the cranial capacity in 100 dry human skull bones

Background: Craniometry is the scientific measurement of the skull useful for anthropometry and forensic practice. Cranial index variations between and within population have been attributed to a complex interaction between genetic and environmental factors. The morphometric and non-morphometric studies of human skulls are very helpful for identification of the sex and age by anthropologist and forensic practice. Cranial dimensions and Cranial indices are considered as simplest and most efficient way to indicate facial differences. Materials and Methods: The present study will constitute 100 dried adult skulls belonging to both sexes available in the department of anatomy and forensic medicine RRMC and H, MS Ramaiah medical college and Sapthagiri medical college, Bangalore. Results: The mean cranial index of the skulls were 76.989 which classifies them under mesocephalic type and we find a significant correlation between the cranial index and the length height and breadth height index with the p value coming below 0.001. Conclusion: The mean, SD of all the parameters to calculate is mentioned in table 1. The mean cranial index is 76.989 with the standard deviation of 5.8775, that of length height index was 76.991 with SD of 4.4615 And that of breadth height index was 100.268 with SD of 5.4350. There is a significant correlation between the cranial index, the length height and breadth height indices. With a correlation value of 0.681 for length height index and -0.635 for breadth height index. Both had a p value <0.001.

Assessment of Gender Dimorphism Using Cephalometry in Iranian Population

Cephalic indices is useful for evaluating racial and gender differences. In this study, we aimed to asses Gender Dimorphism Using cephalometry in the Iranian Population. Different variables like cranial length (CL), cranial width (CW), and cranial height (CH) were measured and cranial index (CI), cranial capacity (CC), and brain weight of 400 Iranian volunteers were calculated. Data were analyzed by means of SPSS 22.0. There were significant differences in the mean value of all nasofacial parameters (P<0.05). The highest sensitivity and specificity to predict the gender dimorphism were related to FL and FW (0.990 and 0.97) and (0.970 and 0.94), respectively. Considering the differences between male and female cranial structures, can be useful in forensic medicine and designing neurosurgical and ergonomic instruments in addition, to distinguish and discover the gender of the humans related to the many years ago.