The patella, the largest of the sesamoid bones, offers three dimensions
for measurements, namely, the maximum height, the maximum breadth, and
the maximum thickness; and the mean of these diameters, the _patellar
module_, is a convenient unit for comparing the size of the bone.
The 30 patellæ present in the Munsee collection give proportions
which are tabulated below. The male bone is perceptibly larger in
all dimensions than the female. There are but small differences as
to side, and they are probably due in a measure, if not entirely,
to the small number of specimens. The mean diameter or module is
practically the same on both sides in both the male and the female.
The breadth-height index averages slightly over 100 and offers nothing
definitely distinctive either as to sex or to side. It varies in males
from 91.7 to 107.4, in the females from 93.8 to 107.9.
LXXII. MUNSEE: PATELLÆ
MALES
-------------+--------------------------------------------------------
| Right
+----+-------+----+--------+----+----------+----+--------
| | | | | | | |Breadth-
| No.|Height,| No.|Breadth,| No.|Thickness,| No.| height
| |maximum| |maximum | | maximum | | index
-------------+----+-------+----+--------+----+----------+----+--------
Average: | | _cm._ | | _cm._ | | _cm._ | |
Pairs | (4)| 4.5 | (4)| 4.6 | (4)| 2.11 | (4)| 102.8
All | (6)| 4.41 | (6)| 4.57 | (6)| 2.06 | (6)| 103.6
Minimum (all)| (6)| 4.2 | (6)| 4.4 | (6)| 1.95 | (6)| 97.8
Maximum (all)| (6)| 4.6 | (6)| 4.8 | (6)| 2.3 | (6)| 105.9
+----+-------+----+--------+----+----------+----+--------
| Left
+----+-------+----+--------+----+----------+----+--------
Average: | | | | | | | |
Pairs | (4)| 4.6 | (4)| 4.55 | (4)| 2.1 | (4)| 98.9
All |(10)| 4.36 |(11)| 4.38 |(12)| 2.04 |(10)| 100.5
Minimum (all)|(10)| 4 |(11)| 3.9 |(12)| 1.85 |(10)| 91.7
Maximum (all)|(10)| 4.8 |(11)| 4.7 |(12)| 2.25 |(10)| 107.4
-------------+----+-------+----+--------+----+----------+----+--------
FEMALES
--------------+--------------------------------------------------------
| Right
+----+-------+----+--------+----+----------+----+--------
| | | | | | | |Breadth-
| No.|Height,| No.|Breadth,| No.|Thickness,| No.| height
| |maximum| |maximum | | maximum | | index
--------------+----+-------+----+--------+----+----------+----+--------
Average: | | _cm._ | | _cm._ | | _cm._ | |
Pairs | (5)| 3.93 | (5)| 4.02 | (8)| 1.73 | (5)| 102.3
All | (9)| 3.93 | (9)| 3.97 |(11)| 1.75 | (9)| 100.4
Minimum (all)| (9)| 3.7 | (9)| 3.7 |(11)| 1.5 | (9)| 93.8
Maximum (all)| (9)| 4.1 | (9)| 4.3 |(11)| 1.9 | (9)| 107.9
+----+-------+----+--------+----+----------+----+--------
| Left.
+----+-------+----+--------+----+----------+----+--------
Average: | | | | | | | |
Pairs | (5)| 3.93 | (5)| 4.05 | (8)| 1.76 | (5)| 103.1
All | (5)| 3.95 | (5)| 4.05 | (8)| 1.76 | (5)| 103.1
Minimum (all)| (5)| 3.8 | (5)| 3.85 | (8)| 1.5 | (5)| 96.2
Maximum (all)| (5)| 4.05 | (5)| 4.1 | (8)| 1.95 | (5)| 107.9
--------------+----+-------+----+--------+----+----------+----+--------
Module (mean diameter)—Males: right, 3.74; left, 3.75;
Females: right, 3.23; left, 3.25.
A comparison of the Munsee patella with that of whites shows that the
latter is slightly larger in both sexes and on both sides; its relative
proportions, however, are very much the same, except that the bone in
white males on both sides appears to be relatively slightly higher than
in the females, which, while also true of the Munsee on the right side,
does not hold true for the left.