Nasal bones and pyriform apertures in blacks

The nasal bones and pyriform apertures of 20 skulls were measured for length and width. There were 6 skulls from the Ashanti tribe in West Africa, 5 black American skulls, 5 skulls from Austria in northern Europe, and 4 American Indian skulls. The nasal bones were measured for length and width at the narrowest and widest portions and the pyriform apertures were measured for height and for width at the base, the mid section, and near the apex at the nasomaxillary suture line. The Ashanti nasal bones were the shortest with a length of 2.18 cm. They were the narrowest with mean widths of 0.47 and 0.83 cm. The Austrian nasal bones were the longest (mean, 3.02 cm). The mean widths were 0.68 and 1.11 cm. The Indian nasal bones had a mean height of 3.0 cm and were the widest with mean widths of 0.61 and 1.28 cm. The measurements of the American black nasal bones fell between the Ashanti on the one hand, and the Austrian and Indian on the other, with a mean height of 2.79 cm and mean widths of 0.49 and 1.03 cm, reflecting the triethnic origin. The pyriform aperture in the Ashanti was oval whereas the white and Indian pyriform apertures were triangular. The black American pyriform apertures varied from oval to triangular, also reflecting the triethnic origin. The clinical implication of these differences in black rhinoplasty are discussed.