Metacarpal lengths & ratios as a marker of sexual dimorphism in population of Haryana and Jammu & Kashmir. A radiological study

Introduction: This study was designed to compare and detect possible differences between the metacarpal length (MCL) and all metacarpal length ratios in left - and right hands of female and male individuals of Haryanvi and J&K populations. Materials and methods: Metacarpal lengths (MCL) of 143 subjects were measured after obtaining X-ray of both the hands, followed by calculating the ratio of each digit to the others (1MCL:2MCL, 1MCL:3MCL, 1MCL:4MCL, 1MCL:5MCL, 2MCL:3MCL, 2MCL:4MCL, 2MCL:5MCL, 3MCL:4MCL, 3MCL:5MCL, and 4MCL:5MCL). Results: All the metacarpals can arranged according to their mean digit lengths in increasing order there to obtain formulae i.e MCL1(49.77) < MCL5(57.21) < MCL4(61.67) < MCL3(69.74) < MCL2(72.46) & MCL1 (49.40) < MCL 5(57.21) < MCL4(61.31)< MCL3(68.33) < MCL2(72.31) for right and left hands of north Indian males respectively. MCL1(45.67) < MCL5(51.81) < MCL4(56.47) < MCL3(64.26) < MCL2(66.60) & MCL1(45.42) < MCL5(51.26) < MCL4(56.09) < MCL3(63.25) < MCL2(66.21) for right and left hands of females respectively. Discussion: Metacarpal length is known to enhance potential, particularly in sporting activities Male and females of north Indian population have difference MCL for their both the hands, hence dimorphism is established. It is especially necessary to measure metacarpal length of the hand for practical reasons. In handball and basketball, the longer is the metacarpal length, the better the accuracy of the shot or throw. Longer metacarpals may help to stabilize digits when throwing objects, and this would increase throwing accuracy. In turn, this would give more of an advantage in sporting activities. (C) 2018 Published by Elsevier, a division of RELX India, Pvt. Ltd on behalf of Anatomical Society of India.