﻿494 



The Philippine Journal of Science 



1914 



Material. — The material on which this study is based consists 

 of the records of 181 women and 117 babies who were patients 

 in the obstetrical department of the Philippine General Hospital 

 during the period from November, 1913, to February, 1914. To 

 insure accuracy in figures, only the cases personally measured 

 by us have been used. There have been eliminated 2 cases of 

 generally contracted pelvis, 2 cases of flat pelvis, and all cases 

 in which labor resulted in premature or multiple babies. The 

 figures of Riggs, who has studied this subject extensively, have 

 been used to establish a comparison between the European or 

 American pelvis and that of the Filipina. Riggs's normal meas- 

 urements were averaged from 707 white women and children. 

 The diameters of the pelvic outlet, however, have been taken 

 from Edgar, (1) as they have not been included in Riggs's work. 



Method of measurement. — The measurements of the external 

 diameters have been taken with the tips of the pelvimeter placed 

 just opposite the bone and not in the outer or inner lip of the 

 ilium. In taking Baudelocque's diameter, the closest proximity 

 to the bone was attempted and the anterior tip of the pelvimeter 

 was placed on the upper border of the symphysis pubis rather 

 than on its anterior surface. The anteroposterior diameter of 

 the pelvic outlet has been measured from the lower border of 

 the symphysis pubis to the sacrococcygeal articulation. These 

 points were chosen because the coccyx is movable, at least in 

 our reported cases, and they, therefore, practically represent the 

 shortest distance in the anteroposterior diameter of the pelvic 

 outlet. 



Table I. — Comparison of the pelvic measurements in American and 



Filipino women. 



Measurement. 



Spine 



Crest- 



Trochanters 



Baudelocque's 



Diagronal conjugrate 



Anteroposterior diameter of the pelvic outlet 

 Transverse diameter of the pelvic outlet 



Ameri- 

 can, 707 



cases 

 (Riggs). 



em. 

 25.47 

 27.998 

 30.90 

 19.71 

 12.26 

 »12.5 

 11.00 



Filipino, 

 181 cases. 



em. 

 23.9 

 24.91 



28.103 



17.63 



12.00 



10.05 



11.00 



Differ- 

 ence. 



em. ■ 



1.47 



3.088 



2.797 



2.08 



0.26 



2.44 



" Edgar. 



