Variations in the Facial Dimensions and Face Types among the Students of A Medical College.

INTRODUCTION: Facial dimensions and the face types are the most variable factors in human community. These dimensions have practical implications for the anthropologist, forensic experts, anatomists and surgeons. The present study is aimed to determine the facial dimensions and face types among the medical and nursing students.

METHODS: A cross-sectional study was done among medical and nursing students of Devdaha Medical College and Devdaha College of Science and Technology from January 2017 to February 2018. There were 155 students of which 72 were males and 83 females. Facial height and width were measured and facial index was calculated. The collected data was entered and analyzed in SPSS 21 and differences in measurements among males and females were calculated.

RESULTS: The mean facial height among the total population was 10.83 ± 0.74 cm and facial width was 12.39 ± 0.67 cm with the mean facial index of 87.44 ± 4.82. The most prevalent was the mesoprosopic face (n= 59, 38.06%) followed by leptoprosopic (n=43, 27.74%). The least prevalent face type was hyperleptoprosopic (n= 7, 4.52%) which was observed only in male individuals.

CONCLUSIONS: The present study depicts higher values of facial height, width and facial indexfor males when compared to the females. The present finding is based upon the indices and classification obtained from developed nation. Further studies with local data would help develop indices and classification for Nepalese population.