An Anthropometric Study of Nasal Indices in Two Indian States

The nasal index has a great value in forensic medicine, anthropological studies, because it is one of the anthropometric indices acknowledged in nasal surgery as well as management. Nasal index shows the ratio of the width to the height of the nasal skeleton. Objectives: The aim of this study was to analyze the nasal parameters and nasal index of dry cranium in West Bengal. Methodology: Nasal height and nasal breadth were measured with a vernier caliper in 115 adult crania from different medical colleges and Science College of Kolkata and Delhi. From these variables, nasal index was calculated as nasal breadth/ nasal height ×100. Results: For the population of West Bengal, the values of nasal aperture height, nasal breadth and nasal index were 47.1 (±3.7) mm, 25.3 (±2.8) mm and 52.2 (±5.85) respectively. For the population of the state of Delhi, the values of nasal height, nasal breadth and nasal index were 35.2 (±3.1), 26.3 (±2.9) and 76.94 (±3.2). Nasal height and nasal index were significantly higher in Delhi than in West Bengal. There was no significant difference in the nasal breadth in the two states of India. Conclusion: The crania in the state of West Bengal exhibit hyperleptorrhine whereas the crania in the state of Delhi exhibit mesorrhine.