﻿PELVIMETRY AND CEPHALOMETRY AMONG FILIPINAS 



By HONORIA ACOSTA-SlSON 



{From the Department of Obstetrics, College of Medicine and Surgery, 

 University of the Philippines) 



Practically no previous systematic measurements of the pelvis 

 in Filipinas have been performed, those cases only having been 

 measured in which the physician was confronted with a gross 

 pelvic abnormality from osteomalacia or rickets or with a case 

 of difficult labor. Apparently, also, no studies have been made 

 of the relationship in size between the pelvis of the Filipino 

 mother and the head of the infant. This may be explained by 

 the facts that until recently untutored midwives had almost the 

 entire control of the maternity cases; that the prospective 

 mothers traditionally do not consult a physician until the mid- 

 wife has failed to bring forth the baby and the patient is near 

 death; and that until two and a half years ago there did not 

 exist large charity hospitals with modern equipment and facil- 

 ities such as are now found in the Philippine General Hospital. 



It has been asserted by different investigators, such as 

 Stratz,(9) Topinard,(iO) Waldeyer,(ii) Riggs,(6) and others, 

 that the pelvis of the less civilized races is narrower and deeper 

 than that of the Caucasian race; and writers, such as Engel- 

 man,(2) Scharlau,(8) Ploss,(5) and Gache,(3) have observed the 

 comparatively easy labors of primitive people. 



The literature concerning the Filipino pelvis consists of a 

 description of a case of osteomalacia by Baldomero Roxas,('7) 

 and one of an osteomalacic pelvis by Jose Montes.(4) However, 

 there are no articles dealing with the normal Filipino pelvis. 



Purpose. — The present study has been undertaken with the 

 purpose of investigating the Filipino pelvis and its relationship 

 to the child's head and also to establish a comparison between 

 the Filipino and European pelvis. It was attempted at the sug- 

 gestion and with the assistance and advice of Dr. Fernando Cal- 

 deron, who kindly consented to measure the diagonal conjugate 

 of all the cases reported below. 



493 



