title: Cephalic index in the first three years of life: study of children with normal brain development based on computed tomography.
abstract: Cephalic index is a highly useful method for planning surgical procedures, as well as assessing their effectiveness in correcting cranial deformations in children. There are relatively very few studies measuring cephalic index in healthy Caucasian young children. The aim of our study was to develop a classification of current cephalic index for healthy Caucasian children up to 3 years of age with normal brain development, using axial slice computer tomography performed with very thin slices (0.5 mm) resulting in more accurate measurements. 180 healthy infants (83 females and 97 males) were divided into 5 age categories: 0-3, 4-6, 7-12, 13-24, and 25-36 months. The average value of cephalic index in children up to 3 years of age amounted to 81.45 ± 7.06. The index value in case of children under 3 months was 80.19, 4 to 6 months was 81.45, 7 to 12 months was 83.15, in children under 2 years was 81.05, and in children under 3 years was 79.76. Mesocephaly is the dominating skull shape in children. In this study, we formulated a classification of current cephalic indices of children with normal brain development. Our date appears to be of utmost importance in anthropology, anatomy forensic medicine, and genetics.
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Anatomy, Medical University of Silesia, 18 Medyków Street, Bulding C-1, 40-752 Katowice, Poland.
authors.forename: Wirginia
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-4738-6102
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Likus
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Anatomy, Medical University of Silesia, 18 Medyków Street, Bulding C-1, 40-752 Katowice, Poland.
authors.forename: Grzegorz
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bajor
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Medical University of Silesia, 12 Medyków Street, 40-752 Katowice, Poland.
authors.forename: Katrzyna
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gruszczyńska
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Medical University of Silesia, 12 Medyków Street, 40-752 Katowice, Poland.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Baron
authors.affiliation: E.N.T. Department, Medical University of Silesia, 20-24 Francuska Street, 40-027 Katowice, Poland.
authors.forename: Jarosław
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Markowski
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Medical University of Silesia, 12 Medyków Street, 40-752 Katowice, Poland.
authors.forename: Magdalena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Machnikowska-Sokołowska
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Anatomy, Medical University of Silesia, 18 Medyków Street, Bulding C-1, 40-752 Katowice, Poland.
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-2464-2481
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Milka
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Anatomy, Medical University of Silesia, 18 Medyków Street, Bulding C-1, 40-752 Katowice, Poland.
authors.forename: Tomasz
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-8443-4014
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lepich
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000254:growth & development*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006257:Head / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D012016:Reference Values; D012886:Skull / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D044465:White People