Does India Need a Separate Cephalic Index Value? An Autopsy-based Study of the Cephalic Index on the Delhi Population

Cephalic Index has been one of the most studied topics in Physical Anthropology. With the advancement of DNA technology, Racial theories are changing drastically. Still, the concept of the cephalic index is relevant in the present context for various reasons like correction of sagittal synostosis, making of head-worn objects like earphones, helmets, etc., Identification, and Cosmetic and Facial reconstruction purposes. Very few studies have been done to measure the cephalic index after reflection of the scalp on cadavers. The present study was done on cases coming for autopsy at the tertiary hospital in the capital of India. A more accurate result for the measurement of the cephalic index has been obtained, which will be helpful for identification purposes in skeletonized bodies. This was a cross-sectional, prospective, and observational study. Two hundred two post-mortem cases (46 females and 156 males) satisfying our inclusion and exclusion criteria in the age group of 7–85 years were examined for skull length and skull breadth as per the standard criteria after reflection of the scalp using a digital vernier caliper, and the cranial index was calculated. The mean biparietal length for the males, females and overall were 133.43, 130.60, and 132.79 (in mm), respectively. The mean occipito-frontal size for the males, females and overall were 172.14, 164.56, and 170.41 (in mm), respectively. The mean cranial index for the males, females and overall were 77.61, 79.46, and 78.04, respectively, that is, all in the category of the Mesati-cephalic. The most typical skull type in both sexes was Mesati-cephalic (male 48.1% and female 41.3%). The second most common was Dolichocephalic (20.5%) among males and Brachycephalic (26.1%) in females, respectively.