Cephalic Index of Ogbia Tribe of Bayesla State

Abstract

A study on Cephalic Index was carried out on subjects from Ogbia tribe of Bayelsa State in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. Four hundred and fourty individuals were randomly selected from the community comprising of 219 males and 221 females respectively. The ages of the subjects ranged from 2-18 years. The length and breadth of the head was measured using a sliding caliper from standard bony landmarks. The measurable point for head length was measured between the glabella and opisthocranion while the head breadth was the widest biparietal diameter from euryon (eu) on one side of the head to euryon (eu), on the other side. Mean values of cephalic index, standard deviation and standard error of mean were calculated for both sexes. The result showed that the mean cephalic index was 72.96 ± 6.12. Male had a cephalic index of 73.68 ± 6.53 while female had a cephalic index of 72.24 ± 5.60. The difference in cephalic index between male and female was significant (p=0.007). Based on the cephalic index, the head form of 66.82% of individuals were Dolichocephalic, 21.59% Mesocephalic, 10.23% Brachycephalic and 1.36% Hyperbrachycephalic. This research showed that Ogbia children have Dolichocephalic phenotype. The data from this research will be useful in anthropology, genetics and forensic medicine.