Authors
Deepika Kakkar, Dr. K.P.S Kushwaha
Abstract
Identification of an individual has many characteristics which are taken into account. Age, sex and stature are one of the major characteristics for identifying the individual. However, in cases where the dead body is highly decomposed, fragmented or mutilated/ attacked by animals; mass disasters, etc., where only part(s) of body is/are available, anthropometry becomes an important tool for identification of such corpse. A central position in the anthropometric research is preoccupied by the stature as every body part bears more or less a constant relationship with height of an individual. The objective of the study is to estimate the stature from Arm span length and predict the regression equation in the males Khatris of India. The study was carried out on 100 healthy male individuals aged 18 to 45 years. Arm span length was taken by using measuring tape and stature by anthropometric Rod. The data was statistical analysis using SPSSv23 software. During analysis it was found that the males with stature 167.7±8.73cm had the arm span of 172.2±8.61cm. The correlation between stature and arm span was positive and significant (r=0.967 p & lt; 0.01). The predicted regression equation for stature was 0.981X arm span length+ (-1.112). The stature calculated using regression equation was 167.8±8.44cm. It can be concluded through this study that estimation of stature forms an important parameter to reach to the partial identification of an unidentified body and dismembered remains. The study indicates that the Arm span length can be efficiently used for estimation of stature. Most authors’ findings have underlined the need for population- specific stature estimation formulae. In this study we derived a separate regression equation to estimate stature from arm span length for population which are helpful to those who are working in the field of medical disciplines, ergonomics anthropologists and security experts. Keywords: Stature, Arm Span length, Anthropometry, Identification, Regression Equation
Introduction
Body size is an important measure that helps in an assessment of nutritional status (Datta Banik, 2011). Scientific literature is studied with reference to measuring body height which is of great importance in the field of Anthropometry.
Stature can be defined as the maximum distance from the point where the heel touches the floor to the maximum point of the head in an erect position (Lohman et al., 1988) and it is one of the most essential elements of identification of an individual. Establishing the individual identity is very essential in cases when only fragmentary remains of a human body are found. (Darji and Tanna, 2018) and in mass disasters i.e. Earthquake, aeroplane crash, bomb blasts, stampedes, tsunami, floods, cyclones, Terrorist attacks, close compartment fire, wars, public vehicle (train, bus, ship, plane etc.) accidents etc. Body Mutilation could also be possible by humans, animals or by a natural process of decomposition. Identification and exclusion of an individual involved in a crime can be made from the evidences traced from hand print and footprint left.
Stature and weight are required for assessing the growth and nutritional status of a person, which help in the determination of basic energy requirements, standardization of measures for physical capacity, for adjusting drug dosage and for identifying an unknown cadaver (Shah et al., 2017).
Length of appendages and long bones of the body represents a certain relationship in the form of proportion to height /stature (Chawla et al., 2013). Skeletal maturity is accomplished when bones are properly ossified, the proportions of the body don’t alter with age. Therefore, it can be said that the individual stature is a quantitative or qualitative measurement of personality. However, in some worse conditions, it is not possible to measure the stature of a person due to deformities of the limbs, in person who have undergone amputations or in unknown cadavers where lower limb (s) and/or trunk is mutated / absent. In some cases, predicting stature using another body parameter like hand and foot lengths, sitting height and knee height, length of the sternum, vertebral column length, length of scapula, arm span as well as cranial sutures (Sah et al., 2014).
Estimating stature are of prime importance in, identifying individuals with disproportionate growth abnormalities, predicting loss in stature in age-related problems, skeletal dysplasia, medico-legal cases or height loss during surgical events on the spine. These body measurement parameters are well utilised for the application in normalizing pulmonary function in scoliosis (Mohanty et al., 2001).
Correlating between stature and the arm span, it was found to be the most consistent parameter in relation to other body parts. Arm span is the maximum distance covered between the tips of the longest fingers of both hands when the person extends both arms at the level of the shoulders (Lohman et al., 1988).
There is great variation between the associations of stature and arm span in different ethnic and racial groups. (Brown et al., 2002).
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| APA Style | Kakkar, D., & Khushwaha, D. K. P. S. (2021). Use of Arm-Span length for Estimation of Height of The Person in Khatri Population of Delhi. Academic Journal of Anthropological Studies, 04(02), 23–29. |
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