Comparative Assessment of Cephalic Index among Bini and Igbo Tribes in Benin City, Nigeria
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Date
2019
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Abstract
Background and Objective: In cephalometry, parameters like the head length, head width and cephalic index are very important in the description of human morphology, variation in different gender and races of human population and making comparison between healthy individuals and clinical patients. Furthermore, they can also be used to categorize human head morphology into different types and to make comparative study of different human populations. This comparative study was carried out to describe the cranial morphology among adolescent and young adult individuals of Bini and Igbo ethnic groups in Nigeria. Methodology: This study involved 260 Bini and 245 Igbo subjects between ages 11 – 25 years. The head length of each subject was measured between the glabella and inion while the head breadth measured between the parietal prominences using spreading and sliding calipers. The cephalic index of each subject was calculated as the ratio of the head breadth to it length expressed as a percentage Results: The mean cephalic indices among the two tribes were higher in males than in females in all the age groups studied. With increasing age, the cephalic index value decreases among the Bini tribe but increases among the Igbo tribe. Based on the morphological classification of the cephalic index values, the brachycephalic head type was the most prevalent among both Bini (55.4%) and Igbo (66.9) tribes while the least common head type among the Bini and Igbo tribes were hyperbrachycephalic (8.1%) and dolicephalic (0.4%) respectively. Conclusion: The cephalic index demonstrated inter-tribal variation, prominent intra-tribal sexual dimorphism and brachycephalization is the dominant trend in cranial morphology of both Bini and Igbo tribes in Nigeria.
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Cephalic index, Bini tribe, Nigeria