Neurocranial form: differentiating four ethnic populations using a simple CT scan measure.

Abstract

Measurements of the cranial vault were obtained at the frontal and occipital poles, using computerized tomographic scans of 192 White, American Indian, Black and Oriental subjects. Significant differences were found in relation to the skull distance measurement (SDM) at the occipital pole for those subjects whose occipital SDM was greater than the frontal SDM (F less than O), as compared to other subjects who displayed equal frontal-occipital SDM (F = O) or frontal greater than occipital (F greater than O) SDM. With respect to these three relationships between frontal and occipital SDM, most American Indian subjects displayed the F = O pattern, most Black subjects the F less than O pattern and most Orientals the F greater than O pattern. White subjects distributed themselves equally among the three patterns. The importance of this new measurement is considered in relation to various areas of current neurological, psychological and anthropological investigations.