title: Analysis of the human osseous nasal shape--population differences and sexual dimorphism.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  In this study, the shape of the outer osseous nose in a German and a Chinese sample is analyzed using a dense set of semi-landmarks. Shape differences related to population and sex as well as directional and fluctuating asymmetry were statistically evaluated and also visualized.
  
  
  METHODS
  Shape differences in the bony nose were investigated between a large sample of CT scans of German (140 ♀, 127 ♂) and Chinese (135 ♀, 132 ♂) crania. We used semi-automatic methods to represent the shape of this region as a dense point-cloud, consisting of 370 three-dimensional bilateral coordinates. Both the symmetric and asymmetric modes of shape variation were addressed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Strong differences in nasal shape were found between the two populations, while sex was found to play a minor role in explaining the observed shape variation. The expression of sexual dimorphism was similar in both populations. Differences attributed to population affinity and to sexual dimorphism were both found to affect the shape of the ossa nasalia and the projection of the spina nasalis. The correlation with population/sex was weak for directional asymmetry, but strong for fluctuating asymmetry. The nasal region is more asymmetric in Germans than in Chinese, with males displaying more asymmetry than females in both populations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  While the bony nose is well suited for predicting population affinity, regarding the populations under investigation, its value for sexing unknown individuals is rather moderate. The similar expression of sexual dimorphism in those otherwise very dissimilar populations indicates common factors responsible for these differences.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, University of Freiburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schlager
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, University of Freiburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rüdell
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000885:Anthropology, Physical; D000886:Anthropometry; D044466:Asian People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002681:China; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009295:Nasal Bone / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
keywords: cranial morphology; geometric morphometrics; human variation