Chapter LXXIII: Patellæ: Munsee and Whites

MALES
---------------------+---------+---------------------------------
| | Right
| +------+-------+---------+--------
Group |Specimens| | | |Breadth-
| (pairs) |Height|Breadth|Thickness| height
| | | | | index
---------------------+---------+------+-------+---------+--------
| |_cm._ | _cm._ | _cm._ |
Munsee | (8)| 4.5 | 4.6 | 2.11 | 102.8
United States whites | [89](200)| 4.56 | 4.64 | 2.15 | 101.7
---------------------+---------+------+-------+---------+--------
| Left
---------------------+---------+------+-------+---------+--------
| | _cm._| _cm._ | _cm._ |
Munsee | (8)| 4.6 | 4.55 | 2.1 | 98.9
United States whites | (200)| 4.52| 4.66 | 2.17 | 103.2
---------------------+---------+------+-------+---------+--------
Module (mean diameter)--Males: Munsee, right, 3.74; left, 3.75;
Whites, right, 3.78; left, 3.78.

FEMALES
---------------------+---------+---------------------------------
| | Right
| +------+-------+---------+--------
Group |Specimens| | | |Breadth-
| (pairs) |Height|Breadth|Thickness| height
| | | | | index
---------------------+---------+------+-------+---------+--------
| |_cm._ | _cm._ | _cm._ |
Munsee | (10)| 3.93 | 4.02 | 1.73 | 102.3
United States whites |[90](100)| 4.02 | 4.03 | 1.9 | 100.2
---------------------+---------+------+-------+---------+--------
| Left
---------------------+---------+------+-------+---------+--------
| |_cm._ | _cm._ | _cm._ |
Munsee | (10)| 3.93 | 4.05 | 1.76 | 103.1
United States whites | (100)| 3.97 | 4.08 | 1.9 | 102.7
---------------------+---------+------+-------+---------+--------
Module—Females: Munsee, right, 3.23; left, 3.25;
Whites, right, 3.32; left, 3.32.

[89] Males: 100 right, 100 left; females: 50 right, 50 left patellæ.

[90] Males: 100 right, 100 left; females: 50 right, 50 left patellæ.

The Munsee patella, while in general slightly smaller than that of the whites, will be seen from the comparative data in the accompanying table to average somewhat larger than that of other Indians available for comparison. The larger size in all dimensions of the white man’s patella than that of the Indian is doubtless due to the greater muscularity of the white subjects from which the bones were derived and who belonged almost exclusively to the laboring classes.

Of the 30 Munsee patellæ, 15 show a moderate to well developed semilunar notch in the lateral border of the bone, for the _vastus lateralis_ (pl. 28, _b_). The patellæ of female skeleton no. 285,311 are decidedly oblique, especially that on the left side; and the patellæ of female no. 285,321 show each an exceptionally long apex.