Abstract

Cephalic index is a useful tool for identification and was first identified by Swedish Professor of Anatomy, Anders Retzius and he first used physical anthropology to classify ancient human remains found in Europe. Anthropometry is helpful in getting measurements of living subjects for identifying various dimensions like gender, age, stature, related to particular individual or a race. Cephalic index can be helpful while investigating for gender or racial difference. Objective: The cephalic index is the ratio of the maximum breadth of head to its maximum length. To estimate cephalic index of healthy adult medical students of JJM Medical College. Material & Methods: The present study was carried out with 320 (160 male & 160 female) medical students of JJM Medical College, Davangere, Karnataka, India. Results: The mean cephalic index was 76.9±2.53. The mean cephalic index for male was 75.6±2.05 and for female was 78.20±2.33. The difference between male and female cephalic index was significant (p= 0.001 & difference 2.52). Conclusion: The result of present study shows that majority of male of Davangere are dolicocephalic or mesocephalic and female are mesocephalic. Cephalic index of the female is 2-3 point higher than the male in Davangere population. The data is of utmost importance in forensic medicine, anthropology and in genetics.

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