English

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Estimation of stature forms important-criteria for establishing individuality of a person and require special attention in cases, where bodies are found in mutilated state and only fragments are re-covered. The stature prediction occupies relatively a central position both in anthropological research and in the identification necessitated by the medical jurisprudence or by medico legal experts. Estimation of stature of an individual from the skeletal material or from the mutilated or amputated limbs or parts of limbs has obvious significance in the personal identification in the events of the murders, accidents or natural disasters mainly concerns with forensic identification analysis. Whether this is true for the North Indian Punjabi male population is not known till date. AIMS: The aim of study is to see the co-relationship between Height and Hand breadth in adult males of North Indian Punjabi population and also to evaluate the reliability of the hand breadth in estimating height of unidentified skeletal as it is not seen in the accessible literature till date to the best of our knowledge. MATERIALS AND METHOD: The study was conducted at Govt. Medical college and hospital, Patiala (Punjab) under department of Anatomy on 150 healthy male Punjabi population of the age group ranging between 18-25 years irrespective of caste, religion, dietary habits and socioeconomic stature etc. The subjects having any disease or deformity were not included in the study. Height and hand breadth were measured with the help of an anthropometric rod and sliding calipers respectively. The height of all the students was measured in anatomical position keeping all the subjects erect. The height measured was vertical distance from the vertex to floor. Hand breadth is the straight distance between metacarpal radiale and metacarpal ulnare. RESULT: A positive correlation between height and hand breadth was observed and it was statistically significant. Regression equation for height estimation was formulated using hand breadth. For statistical analysis IBM ( Statistical Package for Social Sciences) SPSS + Version 20 was used. The mean difference of the height was 1773.273 ± 78.832 mm and Hand breadth (Right and Left) were 83.687 ± 5.720 and 83.593 ± 5.720 mm respectively. CONCLUSION: The height and hand breadth measurements were statistically significant ( p<0.001 ). Hand breadth is a good predictor of height. The correlation between hand breadth and height ( r= 0. 587(HBR), r=0.575(HBL); p<0.001 ) was high and significant in all the subjects. This study has succeeded in establishing standard values of hand