Juntendo Medical Journal

Show abstractHide abstract

The Ryukyu islanders (700 males and 675 females) and the inhabitants in south Kyushu (220 males and 200 females), sum total 1795 persons, were surveyed in nine times during the period from 1972 to 1977. The surveyed 16 areas (Ryukyu 12 areas and south Kyushu 4 areas) are as follows : Yaeyama district-Hateruma, Yonaguni and Ishigaki; Miyako district-Miyako and Ikema; Okinawa district-Kudaka, Itoman, Kitanakagusuku, Yomitan and Kunigami; Amami district-Tokunoshima and Oshima; Kagoshima prefecture-Bonotsu and Yokogawa; Miyazaki prefecture-Nishimera and Shiiba (Fig.1 and Table 1). The morphologic facial height was measured the distance from the supraobital point, not nasion, to the gnathion. The Supraorbital point is the intersection of the median sagittal plane and the line which is determined by the two heighest points on the upmost margins of the both orbits. The Martin's methods were applied on the other measurements. The means and standard errors of the head measurements; head length, head breadth, morphologic facial height, bizygomatic breadth and bigonial breadth, and head indices; cephalic, morphological facial, jugomandibular, for males and females of these areas are shown in Table 3 and Table 5, respectively. Are there any morphological variations of the head measurements and indices of the subjects in these 16 areas along the geographical latitude? Are there any local specialities of the head and face shapes? The results of the physical measurements and indices of the heads and faces are discussed from these points of view. The means of the head measurements are arranged from Hateruma to Shiiba, following to the geographical order from the south to the north, and shown in the bar charts (Fig. 2 to Fig. 5). Fig. 6 and Fig. 7 show the mode of the geographical variations and the local specialities of the cephalic and the morphological facial indices, respectively. The two indices of the subjects in these 16 areas are gathered in 6 districts; Yaeyama, Miyako, Okinawa, Amami, Kagoshima and Miyazaki, and shown in Table 7, Fig. 8 and Fig. 9, respectively. The physical traits of Ryukyu islanders; brachycephalic and euryprosop, are most remarkably recognized in the subjects of Kitanakagusuku and Yomitan (Nakagami). And it is noteworth that the physical traits of Ryukyu islanders are not so much observed in the subjects of Yaeyama and Miyako. For example, the morphological facial index of Ikema islanders is the most leptoprosop among the other subjects in Ryukyu Islands, and this cephalometrical trait are shown also by the craniometries of the Ryukyu islanders (Table 6).Table 4 shows the statures of the subjects in 3 areas of Yaeyama. The statures of these subjects are not varied from the data obtained 20 or 45 years ago. The scatter diagram, Fig. 10 and Fig. 11 are obtained by plotting the mean morphological facial indices againt the mean cephalic indices for the subjects of these 16 areas, and shown for males and females, respectively. The males in these areas can be classified into the following 3 groups and the other group based on the cephalic and morphological facial indices. Group A : (cephalic indices, 80-82; morphological facial indices, 93-95) : Hateruma, Yonaguni, Ishigaki, Miyako, Kudaka and Kunigami Group B : (cephalic indices, 83-84; morphological facial indices, 92-93) : Itoman, Tokunoshima, Oshima, Yokogawa and Nishimera Group C : (cephalic indices, 84-85; morphological facial indices, about 89) : Kitanakagusuku and Yomitan Other group : Ikema, Bonotsu and Shiiba. As for the females, Group A shown in the males approaches to B, and the cephalic indices and morphological facial indices of both groups are included in about 82-84 and 91-93, respectively. The females of Kitanakagusuku and Yomitan belong to Group C, similar to the males.

View full abstract

Download PDF (4663K)

The methods for determining the serum cystine aminopeptidase (CAP) activity were studied using three synthetic peptide derivatives for the substrates, and the CAP activity in serum was measured in normal and abnormal pregnant women. 1. As the routine clinical laboratory test, Watson's modified method using s-benzyl-1 cysteine-p-nitroanilide was more applicable than the other methods. 2. The activity of serum CAP was not decreased in 2-4°C refrigerator for 35 days, but it was diminished in room temperature for 1-7days. 3. The regressing line of serum CAP indicated in log 10 from the 15th week to the 35th week of prepnancy, showed good linear correlation between CAP and time cource of pregnacy. 4. Almost in all cases showing abnormal CAP values beyond the normal range, abnormal pregnant courses were observed. 5. In the women who bore low weight babies under 2,500g or giant babies over 4,000g in birth weight, the values of serum CAP activity after 30 weeks of pregnancy were found to be relatively low.

View full abstract

A forty year old Japanese female with double ureters and pelvis, in combination with malrotation, was presented. Intravenous pyelogram showed double collecting and draining systems. There was a discrepancy in degree of rotation between upper and lower compartments. This anomaly was quite rare in incidence (0.03% in Juntendo cases). The possible mechanism of this anomaly was discussed with embryological standpoints.

View full abstract