Irfan Ahmed Mughal, Nasir Aziz.
Variations in dry weight and size of the adult human Calcanei.
Professional Med J Jan ;8(2):274-6.

Heel bone or the calcaneum is the largest of the tarsal bones. The calcaneum is heavier in the Pakistani population as compared to the Indians. The right male bones are heavier than the left calcanei in both sexes. The time, environment and heat have minimal effect on bones. OBJECTIVES: To determine variations in weight and size scale which could be useful in identification of unknown individuals. MATERIALS & METHODS: Two hundred adults male calcanei were selected from the bone banks of PMC Faisalabad and KEMC Lahore for the present study. Right and left calcanei were weighed in grams with the help of electronic weighing scale. Height, length and width were recorded with the help of sliding Vernier Calliper in centrimeters. RESULTS: No significant difference of measurements between the means of right and left calcanei was observed. The mean weight of the right and left calcanei recorded was 27.33 gms and 26.55 gms, respectively. The mean max height of right and left calcanei recorded was 5.40 cms and 5.30 cms, respectively. The mean max length of right calcaneum was 7.80 cms and left calcaneum was 7.74 cms. Whereas the mean max width of right calcanei was 2.61 cms and that of left calcanei was 2.59 cms. CONCLUSIONS: The right calcanei are heavier than the left calcanei, which is due to the dominant side preference. The height of the body of the calcaneum is more in our study, which could be due to more body height in the Pakistani population as compared to the Americans. The racial difference plays a major role in this regard.

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