Abstract
Morphometry of the second, third and fourth metacarpal bone was performed on hand-wrist radiograms of both hands in a sample of 434 male and 549 female adult subjects. Mor-phometric data (bone length-L, total diaphysis width-T and medullary canal width-M) and age were processed using principal factor analysis with oblique rotation, separately for males and females. In both sexes three factors accounting for 74.7% of the total variance were extracted, but their patterns of variation differed. Factors-"cumulative environmental-genetic factor", "longitudinal factor", and "transversal factor"-are discussed within the context of their biologi-cal meaning affecting the. phenotypic formation of metacarpal skeleton in a given population
