STANDARDIZING MEASUREMENTS OF LIVING 49 



"greatest distance in the sagittal plane from the center of the line between 

 the two tragion points." 



Nasion, a most important landmark because several small measurements 

 are computed from it, is determined in a number of ways: by feeling the 

 suture with the index finger nail; by visualizing it without palpation through 

 the observer's knowledge of its position on skulls; by determining the most 

 posterior point on the profile below glabella; and by choosing arbitrarily a 

 distance of 5 mm. below glabella. 



Further differences of technique and landmarks were found, particularly 

 in measurements of span, the arm segments, and the chest diameters. 

 There are differences of opinion in how much pressure to exert with the 

 terminals of the instruments on the skin, and of which instruments to use, — 

 all of which would make certain differences in the results. 



The need for standardization in anthropometry was brought out clearly 

 and emphatically by P. C. Mahalanobis and by M. L. Tildesley in their 

 articles in Biometrika (1928). When this is achieved, the data of anthro- 

 pometrists will become far more reliable (accurate, dependable) and also 

 more significant since an increasing proportion will be comparable. 



Until standardization of measurements, instruments and anatomical 

 landmarks is achieved, it is urgently recommended that all publications of 

 anthropometric data should include a complete description of the technique 

 employed in each measurement. 



