Indar Jit

Time of fusion of the basisphenoid with the basilar part of the occipital bone in northwest Indian subjects

To find out the time of fusion of the basisphenoid with the basilar part of the occipital bone in Northwest Indian subjects, a quadrilateral piece of bone extending from the posterior clinoid processes to the jugular tubercles was removed from 50 male and 34 female autopsy subjects between the ages of 10 and 20 years. The piece of bone was X-rayed and then macerated. In addition CT scan cuts of the basisphenoid were obtained in 46 male and 27 female living subjects between the age of 10 and 19 years. In the males, partial fusion was seen at 13 years while a complete fusion was noticed at 15 years in 25% of the subjects. The age of a boy showing complete fusion should be 15 years or above. If there is no fusion or partial fusion he should be below 19 years as complete fusion is seen in all male subjects at 19 years. In females, the earliest partial fusion was noted at 12 years and complete fusion was present at 13 years in 16.6%. All female subjects showed complete fusion at 17 years. The minimum age of a girl showing complete fusion should be 13 years; if no fusion or partial fusion is seen, her age should be below 17 years.

Time of fusion of epiphyses at the elbow and wrist joints in girls of Northwest India

A radiological examination of both elbows and wrists of 149 Northwest Indian schoolgirls between the ages of 11 and 19 years, of middle socio-economic status, was undertaken to determine the time of fusion of the epiphyses with the metaphyses of the medial epicondyle of the humerus, the proximal end of the radius and the distal ends of both radius and ulna. The data were subjected to discriminant function tests as well as sensitivity and specificity tests. If the epiphysis of the medial epicondyle of the humerus or that of the head of the radius has not fused with metaphysis completely, the age of the girl would be < 16 years. However, the age of the girl should be > 16 years if the distal epiphyses of the radius and the ulna show complete fusion with their respective metaphyses. Discriminant function tests show that 91.95% of girls can be correctly classified as being above or below the age of 16 years.

An Indian mummy: a case report

A case of mummification occurring in northwest India (Chandigarh) is described. A middle-aged man developed an abscess on his back and was treated by a mystical man who did not allow him any food or water. After a few days the patient died. On the advice of the mystical man the body was kept in a room which was made hot and dry. The police discovered the body after 2 years. A postmortem examination was conducted and findings are reported.

Fatness and fat pattering in 12–17-year-old youth from the Chandigarh zone of Northwest India

Fatness and fat patterning were studied in a sample of 502 youth, 12–17 years of age, of high and low socioeconomic status (SES) from the Chandigarh Zone of northwest India. Fatness estimates were based on six skinfolds, while fat patterning was analyzed through the centripetal fat and waist/hip ratios, and through principal components of skinfolds. In all analyses, fat patterns were adjusted for general body fatness. Upper SES subjects were larger and fatter than lower SES subjects of the same age and sex. As expected, females displayed higher fatness levels than males, a more peripheral distribution of body fat, and lower body patterning of trunk fat. Lower SES was associated with a centripetal, rather than a peripheral, fat pattern. After correction for amount of fat, there were no differences between SES groups in the waist/hip ratio, within‐sex. Compared to U.S. youth of a similar age range, Indian subjects displayed higher BMI‐adjusted centripetal fat and waist/hip ratios. Lower SES was associated with reduced body fatness along with a centralized pattern of fat deposition, which could reflect a greater mobilization of peripheral fat to meet the metabolic demands of growth. While there was some suggestion of an ethnic effect in the two ratios, this could not be demonstrated with confidence.

Brain weight of Northwest Indian children and adolescents

Brain weight of 708 individuals, 329 neonates (211 males and 118 females), 142 infants (101 males, 41 females), and 237 children and adolescents (136 males and 101 females), from Chandigarh region of northwest India were measured. Brain weight was 371.9 ± 89.5 gm in male newborns and 342.5 ± 72.2 gm in female newborns (P > 0.05). It increased to 444.7 ± 87.2 gm in the former and 405.0 ± 78.5 gm in the latter at the end of the neonatal period (28 days). Brain weight increased to 845.7 ± 163.4 gm in males and 803.0 ± 100.1 gm in females at the end of 12 months (P > 0.05), and then to 1241.9 ± 104.5 gm in the age group of 5–6 years in males and to 1101.3 ± 37.5 gm in the age group of 3–4 years in females. Thereafter, there was a gradual increase in the brain weight to 1326.9 ± 126.9 gm in male and 1206.3 ± 86.4 gm in female adolescents in the age group of 16–17 years (P < 0.01). By the age of 6 years, about 94.5% (95.6% in males and 93.3% in females) of adult brain weight was attained. Sex differences became evident after the age of 14 years. Relationships between brain weight and age, supine body length, body weight and body surface area were also considered. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 10:505–509, 1998.

Skinfold thicknesses, body circumferences and their relationship to age, sex, and socioeconomic status in adults from Northwest India

Subcutaneous fatness, measured anthropometrically, was analyzed in a sample of 651 males and females, 18–49 years of age, of high and low socioeconomic status (SES) from the Chandigarh zone of Northwest India. There were significant differences between lower and upper SES males and females. In general, all groups tend to show increases in indicators of fatness between the 18–29 and the 30–39 year age groups. However, there was less consistency across groups between 30–39 and 40–49 years. There is no difference in sexual dimorphism between SES groups. Means of lower SES subjects are approximately 1 S.D. below those of U.S. reference data. Using the body mass index as a criterion, no lower SES individuals were classified as overweight or obese. In the upper SES sample, 12.1% were classified as overweight.

Weights of the heart in northwest indian adults

Weights of apparently normal hearts were obtained from 1,344 male and 313 female adults from the Chandigarh region of northwest India, on whom a medicolegal autopsy was performed. The average weight of the heart was 296.7 ± 48.5 gm in males and 238.9 ± 45.1 gm in females. Partial correlations between heart weight and body weight and supine length were significant. The correlation between heart weight and age was, however, not statistically significant. Multiple regression constants with standard errors were generated for estimating the weight of the heart for intervals of body weight and supine length in living subjects.

Weight of the testes in Northwest Indian adults

Three hundred twenty‐five pairs of testes were obtained from northwest Indian subjects of Chandigarh zone aged 18 to 80 years, on whom medicolegal postmortems had been performed by the senior author. The weight of each testis along with epididymis was recorded on a single pan electric balance. The mean weight of the right testis was 17.18 ± 4.32g in 18–20‐year‐old subjects, and increased steadily to 19.44 ± 4.67 g in 41–50‐year‐old subjects. The weight decreased thereafter, to 17.77 ± 4.75 g in the age group of 51–60 years and 17.57 ± 5.10 g in subjects above 60 years. The weight of the left testis was about one gram less than that of the right but followed the same age‐related pattern. To calculate the weight of testis from its measurement, a regression formula was developed for each age group. The calculated weight by the regression formula and the actual weight were almost the same (P > 0.05). The formula could be effectively used to determine the weight of a testis in a living subject by taking testicular measurements (length, side‐to‐side, antero‐posterior) with a sliding caliper. The procedure seems to be preferable than estimating the volume of testis by an orchidometer, which introduces considerable subjective error.