Estimation of the cranial capacity and brain weight of Iranian female newborns

The evaluation and measurement of human body dimensions and diameters are achieved by physical anthropometry (Chamella, 1997; Williams et al., 1995). The dimensions of newborns bodies can be the basis for all changes in anthropometric indices. Therefore, these dimensions are important in this field, because this is one of the health evaluation indices of newborns (Golalipour et al., 2000; Afak and Turgut, 1998). The common method for evaluating of craniofacial forms includes cephalometry, photogrametry, ultrasound, computed tomography (CT) scanning and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (McIntyre et al., 2003). Cephalometry is one of the important parts of anthropometry, in which the dimensions of the head and face are measured (Grau et al., 2001; El-Feghi et al., 2004). The cephalometric results are used in pediatric, forensic medicine, plastic surgery, oral surgery, orthodentistry and diagnostic comprehension between patient and normal populations (Williams et al., 1995; Gale et al., 2003). The dimensions of the human body are affected by geographical, racial, ethnic, gender and age factors (Golalipour et al., 2003; Eur J Anat, 10 (2): 49-52 (2006)