I would like to acknowledge the help I received from many people and sources during the preparation of this book. Published anatomical and anthropological information has been the source of some of the facts used, other information has come from experts who have shared their knowledge and experience. The idea of the fitted curve showing incremental growth shown in Figures 15a and 15b is derived from the same source.
I am grateful to Dr W H Sheldon and his publishers Harper and Row, New York, for allowing me to use photographs of male somatotypes from the Atlas of Men to construct the examples shown in Figures 27, 28 and 29 and for using the information in The Varieties of Human Physique about the prevalence of somatotypes in a population. Any errors in the use of the measurements and information I was allowed to use are entirely my own, as are the conclusions I drew from them. The preparation of the manuscript was made much easier by the typing and assistance of Miss E Ridley at the initial stage;.
If the information is to be valid and relevant, one of the things one must do is measure oneself. Many of the facts used are not mine; but they are also not generally available.
General anatomical descriptive terms of position
Planes at right angles to the median and sagittal planes, and parallel to the direction of the shoulders, are called coronal. The proximal end of the arm is therefore the shoulder and the hand is at the distal end. Common anatomical descriptive terms of position 13 ever are generally greater in weight than the limbs of the. hands and feet together.
The proportional weight of the head in relation to the rest of the body parts must be taken into account, as taking care of the head weight by means of a headrest is often a necessary ingredient in a human situation. It can be imagined that the line for the center of gravity of the standing figure in the 'normal' position draws perpendicularly down through the three constituent masses: the skull, the thorax and the abdomen - the pelvis. The relationship between the center of gravity and body parts, in side view, varies depending on the figure type studied.
Its relationship to the head, shoulder girdle, and vertebral column is very uncertain; at the hip it may pass either through the anatomical head or neck of the femur or at a point before this. At the knees it will either pass through the patella or at its anterior or inferior points, and then it must pass in front of the ankle joint through the arch of the foot.
1 Growth, maturity and old age
It can be seen that the law of growth change is clearly at work in the change of proportions that takes place during the growth of the long bones of the skeleton. In early childhood there is a general plumpness, with relatively large dimensions of the trunk and head. There is a big difference in the shape of the thorax between newborns and adults.
During the period of the adolescent growth spurt, there is a very marked increase in the size of various body parts. In the arm region, the progression during the growth spurt follows a similar sequence to that of the leg. Growth does not stop abruptly, but eventually decreases in the trunk and head areas.
The leg and foot bones of the male are longer than the female. The average curve here simplifies the estimation of the increase in the length of the boys' arms.
2 Figure typing
An important part of the study of the constitution of the body has always shown concern for inquiries about body shape. However, Viola recognized the presence of a 'mixed-type' physics that contained some of the elements found in the three primary groupings he had devised. The ribcage is massive, and certainly in a male, markedly wider than the pelvis in the area of the xiphoid process.
The sub-costal angle is sharp although the thorax is shallow in anterior posterior dimension, especially in the region of the sternum. The trunk is shallow and flat, the abdomen protrudes in profile in front of the thorax. The scale of numbers shows the strength of any of the three components in any physique.
More than half of the physique is dominated by a combination of endomorphism and mesomorphism; less than a quarter due to ectomorphy. The head is medium to large; the shoulders are small and the waist is well defined in the middle of the torso.
3 Practical anthropometry
This is just one example of the difficulties that can arise in constructing an attitude and then measuring it. If possible, all subjects should be measured at the same time of day. When the body surface is placed against the background, the figure type should be taken into account.
The adjustment of the head, in the Frankfurt plane, will however take care of the adjustment of the subject's spine in the normal standing posture. The measurement is taken from the top of the head to the ground; an adjustable cross bar being lowered to the head and the measure taken from a vertical scale. As with standing, body physics must be considered and posture controlled by some adjustments of the subject's head, in the Frankfurt plane, and the trunk is as elevated as possible.
The required practice centers largely on the consideration of the pressure of the anthropometric arms on the subject. The tape should be applied parallel to the floor and just touching the bottom of the buttocks. The width of the shoulders is taken from the most lateral point of one acromion process to the other.
The length is therefore from the most lateral point of the acromion process to the tip of the third toe. Arm circumference can be measured halfway between the elbow and the tip of the acromion. Other surface dimensions of the skull can be designed to solve specific milling or uniform problems.
This can be taken at the level of the vertebral prominence when the band rests over the head of the sternum in front. Measure vertically from the floor to the central point of the prominence of the greater trochanter on the left femur. Measurement with the tape placed horizontally around the body at the level of the greatest extension of the abdomen.
4 The statistical treatment of measurements
66 The statistical treatment of measurements. the value of the height halfway through a series of values of men's heights arranged in order of scale. The unit standard deviation is a very useful statistic when considering the distribution of random events. The value of a variable in a normal distribution would therefore be the arithmetic mean of all variables plus or minus the value of the number of standard deviations.
The number of classes must ultimately be determined from the quantity and variation of the measurements in a distribution. It is in considering the loss and gain of information that experience is required when choosing the number of classes for a distribution. The area of each rectangle is representative of the number of measurements in each class.
Percentile values show the cumulative frequency of occurrence of measurements in order of magnitude as a percentage of the study population. From a set of height measurements, you could find a height value that would include 90% of the population. One standard deviation on each side of the mean gives percentile values from 16 to 84.
More often, it is necessary to analyze the relationship between two or more variables. The intensity of the association has a definite direction and it is suggested that it may approach being linear. The more distinct the diagonal pattern, the closer the relationship between the two variables.
Statistical processing of measurements 77. to determine the percentage of possible users within the limits of both distributions. The correlation coefficient gives a measure of the intensity of the relationship between two variables. The use of such a distribution is that it can give percentages of a sampled population.
5 Dynamic anthropometry
Altogether, the bones of the arm and hand provide a very flexible range of bony links. The very free movement of the shoulder joint must be especially considered by the clothing designer. Joints in the appendicular skeleton can be stationary through the control action of the attached muscles and ligaments.
The resistance of the force may also be too great for the operator to overcome. As the length of the lever increases, the speed at the load side can be increased. Upper limit should be below shoulder blades to allow movement of the shoulders and the arms.
Bibliography
Damon, A, and McFarland, RA, 1955, "The Physique of Hus and Truck Drivers: With a Review of Occupational Anthropology," American Journal of Physical Anthropology, no. Hertzberg, HTE, 1955, Some Contributions of Applied Physical Anthropology to Human Engineering American New York Academy of Science No. Subjects: Their Ability to Utilize the Maximal Contractile Force of the Limb Muscles', Journal of Physiology No.
Keegan JJ, 1953, 'Changes in the lumbar curve associated with posture and sitting', Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery no. Brozek, J, Hunt, E E and Skerji B, 1953, 'Subcutaneous Fat and Age, Changes in Body Build and Body Form in Women' American Journal of Physical Anthropology, no. Edwards, DA, 1951, 'Differences in the distribution of subcutaneous fat according to sex and maturity', Clinical Science no.
Gallagher, JR and Seltzer, CC, 1946, 'Somatotypes of a Group of Adolescents', American Journal of Physical Anthropology, No.2.
Index
