ORIGINAL ARTICLE Journal of Evolution of Medical and Dental Sciences/ Volume 2/ Issue 14/ April 8, 2013 Page-2334 PREDICTION OF STATURE BY THE MEASUREMENT OF HEAD LENGTH IN POPULATION OF RAJASTHAN Santosh Kumar, Rohin Garg, Khushboo Mogra, Rajuram Choudhary 1. M.Sc (Med) PG Student. Department of Anatomy, SMS Medical College. Jaipur. Rajasthan. 2. PG Student, Department of Anatomy, SMS Medical College, Jaipur, Rajasthan, 3. PG Student, Department of Anatomy, SMS Medical College, Jaipur, Rajasthan, 4. PG Student, Department of Anatomy, SMS Medical College, Jaipur, Rajasthan, CORRESPONDING AUTHOR: Dr. Santosh Kumar, 81/16, Sector-8, Pratap Nagar, Sanganer, Jaipur, Rajasthan, PIN-302033. E-mail: drsantoshgupta22@gmail.com ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Estimation of stature has a significant importance in the field of forensic anthropometry for the identification of an individual. AIMS: Study was carried out to assess and correlate head length and the stature and to predict the stature of an individual by head length using regression analysis. MATERIALS & METHODS: Total 300 (150 males and 150 females) medical students of S.M.S medical college, Jaipur (Rajasthan) were selected. Head length and height of the individual were measured. RESULTS: Correlation coefficient between height & head length were r=0.941 for Male & r= 0.85 for Female suggestive of strong positive correlation. Regression equations were derived to calculate height of unknown individual from head length. CONCLUSION: Present study has established definite correlation between stature and head length. If either of the measurement (total height or head length) is known, the other can be calculated. It will help in medico-legal cases in establishing identity of an individual when only some remains of the body are found as in mass disasters, bomb explosions, accidents etc. KEY WORDS: Anthropometry, Body Height, Cephalometry, Identification. MESH TERMS: Anthropometry, Body Height, Cephalometry, Identification. INTRODUCTION: Anthropometry, the typical and the traditional tool of physical anthropology, provides the scientific methods and the techniques for estimating the various measurements and the observations on the living as well as the skeleton of man. Human body height (Stature) is one of the most important elements in the identification of an individual. To assess the height of an individual, from measurements of different parts of the body, has always been of immense interest to Anatomists, Anthropologists and Forensic experts. It is well known that there is a definite relationship between the height of the person and various parts of the body like head, trunk and lengths of extremities. The relationship between body segments has been used to compare and highlight variations between different ethnic groups and to relate them to locomotor patterns, energy expenditure, and lifestyle. 1,2 Reconstruction of stature from various bones of the human skeleton has been achieved by many scientists with varying degree of accuracy. Establishment of alternative methodologies for personal height estimation is important for a number of reasons. Firstly, in instances where height estimates needed to be made from fragments of bones in archeological procedures or in forensic examinations after mass disasters or genocide. 3 Secondly, estimates of pharmacokinetic parameters and evaluation of nutritional status rely on accurate measurement of not only body