Background: Cranial index, primarily used as an indicator of race had been studied by various workers in view of its morphometric difference in sex prediliction. Hence it would be useful to identify sex of an individual from skeletal remains. Similar studies from our geographic region, if at all present might be very few.
Aims and Objective: Based on maximum breadth and length of skull the study aimed at whether there was any statistically significant difference in the cranial index of male and female.
Materials and Methods: We used 96 dry,intact skulls preserved in the departments of Forensic Medicine and Anatomy of various Medical Colleges in Kottayam, Ernakulam, Alappuzha and Pathanamthitta districts of Kerala state, India. Skull typed as male or female by observation method was measured for its maximum breadth andlength, cranial index derived and the data was entered against corresponding serial number. The data analysis was conducted using SPSS software.
Results: The mean percentage values of cranial index for female and male were respectively 77.68±4.53 and 73.71±4.05 with the p-value noted as 0.0001from their ranks determined by Mann- Whitney U test whichshowed statistically significant difference in cranial index of the two sexes. Literature could reveal similar results in studies conducted by other authors.
Conclusion: Hence this morphometric study proved that it is valuable to include the application of cranial index in the identification procedure of skeletal remains. Further metric studies in this field are needed with a wider usage of other indices.
Background: The coronavirus pandemic is one of the deadliest pandemic in history. The authorities worldwide responded to this pandemic by implementing business closures, travel restrictions, lockdowns and quarantines.
Aims and Objectives: To determine the type of cases and compare the patterns of deaths which came for autopsy to Department of Forensic Medicine, Government Medical College, Kottayam during the Pre lockdown period in 2019 and COVID-19 Lockdown Period in 2020.
Materials and Methods: This retrospective study was conducted in the Department of Forensic Medicine, Govt. Medical College, Kottayam. The study data was collected from postmortem reports of Department of Forensic Medicine, Govt. Medical College, Kottayam. Pre-lockdown period was taken as from 21 March to 31 May 2019.There were total 424 cases in 2019,whereas in the Lockdown period taken as from 21 March 2020 to31 May 2020,no: of cases reduced to 270. All these cases were grouped according to cause of death, manner of death and modalities of natural and unnatural deaths. Details of cases were entered utilizing a proforma.
Results: There were total 424 cases in the pre-lockdown period in the year 2019, whereas in the lockdown period in 2020, number of cases declined to 270. Among the manner of deaths, accidents accounted for most of the deaths in the year 2019, i.e. 44.6% deaths due to accidents, whereas in the year 2020, deaths due to natural diseases topped the list, 46.3%. These differences in the manner of deaths were found statisticallysignificant.
Conclusion: Two months into lockdown, statistically significant differences were noted in patterns of deaths. Further study should be conducted in the near future, when more data will become available. Providing early warning in patterns of mortality within the community could prove to be an invaluable public health asset.
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