How cranial shapes led to contemporary ethnic classification: a historical view

Abstract

In the medical literature, various ethnic terms such as Caucasian or Mongolian,are sporadically cited to indicate the relationship between certain disorders and the geographical origin of individuals. Few scientists recognize that those definitions stem from a medical thesis written by the German physician Johann Friedrich Blumenbach in 1775. Through considering cranial shapes, Blumenbach proposed five race varieties including the Caucasian, the Mongolian, the Malayan, the Ethiopian, and the American. While he favored only beauty, his contemporaries reclaimed an intellectuality arrangement among those race types and gave the highest credibility to Caucasian, which therefore, besides defining an ethnicity, has conveyed a discriminatory meaning. The term had been widely used in the medical literature without knowledge of its historical background. Although not commonly used any longer, the Caucasian and similar terms that reflect racial preference should be abandoned in medical text and replaced by more favorable definitions.

Abandoning the word Caucasian

“…Similarly, the journal Genetics in Medicine instructs authors to avoid the word Caucasian, unless referring to the people group from the Caucasus region in Eurasia (Flanagin et al, 2021). Yet even with reputable scientific journals providing specific author guidance on this subject, the word Caucasian is relatively common in scientific litera- Recently, several publications have encouraged medical genetics and other healthcare specialties to discontinue using the term Caucasian in medical records and research (Belen, 2018;Brothers et al, 2021;Flanagin et al, 2021;Shamambo & Henry, 2022).…”

“…Recently, several publications have encouraged medical genetics and other healthcare specialties to discontinue using the term Caucasian in medical records and research (Belen, 2018; Brothers et al, 2021; Flanagin et al, 2021; Shamambo & Henry, 2022). Nonetheless, Caucasian is still listed on laboratory TRFs and reports, general population databases, and even marketing collateral.…”