CEPHALIC INDEX

(Redirected from Brachycephalic)
'Cephalic index' is the ratio of the maximum width of the head to its maximum length (i.e., in the horizontal plane, or front to back), sometimes multiplied by 100 for convenience. It was once widely used to categorize human populations, but is no longer used for that purpose except for describing individuals' appearances, and has no correlation with behavior. It is still sometimes used for estimating the age of fetuses for legal and obstetrical reasons, in which case the differences in skull shapes between different populations are still of interest. Such an index is also used to categorize animals, especially dogs and cats.

Contents

Cephalic index in human anthropology

Indices

Cephalic index in animal breeding

Brachycephalic animals

Mesocephalic animals

Dolichocephalic animals

See also

External links

References

Cephalic index in human anthropology

The cephalic index was defined by Swedish professor of anatomy Anders Retzius (1796-1860) and first used in physical anthropology to classify ancient human remains found in Europe. The theory became closely associated with the development of racial anthropology in the 19th and early 20th century, when prehistorians attempted to use ancient remains to model population movements in terms of racial categories. Human populations were characterised as either 'dolichocephalic' (long headed), 'mesocephalic' (moderate headed), or 'brachycephalic' (broad headed).
The usefulness of the cephalic index was questioned by Giuseppe Sergi, who argued that cranial morphology provided a better means to model racial ancestry.^[1] However it was studies by Franz Boas between 1910 and 1912 that most effectively challenged the value of the method. Boas studied the children of immigrants to the United States, noting that the children's cephalic index differed significantly from their parents, implying that local environmental conditions had a significant impact on the development of head shape.^[2] Boas argued that if craniofacial features were so maleable in a single generation, then the cephalic index was of little use for defining "race" and mapping ancestral populations. The studies by Boas and followers such as Klienberg eventually led to acceptance in anthropology that the cephalic index was a purely environmental component, though scholars such as Earnest A. Hooton continued to argue that both environment and hereditary were involved. Boas did not himself claim it was totally plastic.
In 2002 a paper by Sparks and Jantz re-evaluated some of Boas's original data using new statistical techniques and concluded that there was a "relatively high genetic component" of head shape.^[3] Ralph Holloway of Columbia University argues that the new research raises questions about whether the variations in skull shape have "adaptive meaning and whether, in fact, normalizing selection might be at work on the trait, where both extremes, hyperdolichocephaly and hyperbrachycephaly, are at a slight selective disadvantage."^[2]

Indices

Cephalic indices are grouped as in the following table:

Females	Males	Scientific term	Meaning	Alternative term
< 75%	< 65%	''dolichocephalic''	'long-headed'	''mesocranial''
75% to 80%	65% to 75%	''mesocephalic''	'medium-headed'	''mesaticephalic''
> 80%	> 75% (male)	''brachycephalic''	'short-headed'	''brachycranial''

Technically, the measured factors are defined as the maximum width of the bones that surround the head, above the supramastoid crest (behind the cheekbones), and the maximum length from the most easily noticed part of the glabella (between the eyebrows) to the most easily noticed point on the back part of the head.

Cephalic index in animal breeding

The cephalic index is used to in the categorisation of animals, especially breeds of dogs and cats.

Brachycephalic animals

A 'brachycephalic' skull is relatively broad and short (typically with the breadth at least 80% of the length). Dog breeds such as the Pug are sometimes classified as "Extreme Brachycephalic" since the muzzle practically disappears.
Brachycephalic dogs and cats are very sensitive to high temperatures, making the choice of a sleep or travel crate surface especially important.
List of brachycephalic dogs:

★ American Pit Bull Terrier

★ Boston Terrier

★ Boxer

★ Brussels Griffon

★ Bull Terrier

★ Bulldog

★ Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

★ English Toy Spaniel

★ French Bulldog

★ Japanese Spaniel (Japanese Chin)

★ Lhasa Apso

★ Pekingese

★ Pug

★ Shih Tzu

★ Shar-Pei
List of brachycephalic cats:

★ Himalayan cat

★ Persian cat

Mesocephalic animals

A 'mesocephalic' skull is of intermediate length and width. Mesocephalic skulls are not markedly brachycephalic or dolichocephalic.

★ Labrador Retriever

★ Golden Retriever

★ German Shepherd Dog

★ Dobermann

★ Dalmatian

★ Beagle

Dolichocephalic animals

A 'dolichocephalic' skull is relatively long skull (typically with the breadth less than 80% or 75% of the length).
List of dolicocephalic canines:

★ Wolf

★ Collie

★ Coyote

★ Afghan Hound

★ Azawakh

★ Borzoi

★ Chart Polski

★ Greyhound

★ Hortaya Borzaya

★ Pharaoh Hound

★ Saluki

★ Scottish Deerhound

★ Sloughi

★ Whippet

See also

★ Craniometry

★ Phrenology

★ Skull

External links

★ MedFriendly.com: Cephalic index

★ Brachycephalic Experienced Veterinarians Database

References

1. Bioarchaeology in the Roman world
2. Ralph L. Holloway, Head to head with Boas: Did he err on the plasticity of head form?
3. A reassessment of human cranial plasticity: Boas revisited, Corey S. Sparks and Richard L. Jantz, , , PNAS, 2002 . See also the discussion in Head to head with Boas: Did he err on the plasticity of head form?, Ralph L. Holloway, , , PNAS, 2002
4. Ralph L. Holloway, Head to head with Boas: Did he err on the plasticity of head form?