LUIGI BRIAN and ANTONIO GUERCI - Constituional Research on Italian Army

8/13/2019 LUIGI BRIAN and ANTONIO GUERCI - Constituional Research on Italian Army

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Constitutional Research on Italian

Army Recruits

LUIGI BRIAN and ANTONIO GUERCI

The authors (who contributed equally to the structuring of the work; in addition, Guerciprepared the statistical data) have long been carrying out systematic research on humanpeoples, in relation either to constitutionalism or to characterology. The importance of thesestudies has been defined by Martiny (1948): "Biotypology, as a 'new science,' on the strict

basis of an experimental observation and of statistics, deals with the correlations between

the human form, its physiology and its psychism, and tries to study Man in his unitarywhole."

It must be stressed that apart from a few rare cases, general work has ever dealt with thisargument in the course of this century and since the extensive survey conducted by Livi

(1896) covering about 300,000 recruits of the 1859-to-1863 contingents.

Our work is a study of a first group of 7,056 recruits of the 1948-to-1950 contingents,representing the twenty Italian regions. Only fourteen regions are shown in Table 1, for atotal of 6,898 recruits. As will be noted, there is a minimum of subjects (137) for theMarches and a maximum (1,057) for Lombardy.

The dimensions considered, for the successive constitutional diagnoses, are as follows:stature (from the vertex; symbol St tt); seated height (from the vertex; symbol St sd);diameter of the thorax (biacromia: Dt Tc); diameter of the pelvis (biiliocristal: Dt Bc);

thoracic perimeter (xifoidian: Pm Tc); and abdominal perimeter (mesogastric minimum:Pm Dd). Figures 1 and 2 show the differential intensities of the average normalities of thestature and the thoracic perimeter; these are the most indicative. Table 2 shows the generalgraph (symbol GG) of the

This work was carried out by one of our Institute's teams, thanks to the help and cooperation of the Italian

military authorities.


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70 LUIGI BRIAN, ANTONIO GUERCI

Table 1. Regional sample frequencies

Region

Abruzzi 140

Basilicata 186

Calabria 343Campania 791

Emilia 403Latium 568

Lombardy 1,057

Marches 137

Piedmont 293Puglia 794

Sardinia 316Sicily 933

Tuscany 307

Venetia 630Total 6,898

.....NEMER MMMMM

mm. 1,639 1,646-1,656 1,676 1,685-1,694 1,711-1,715

Figure 1. Stature averages in the different regions

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mm. 830 835-838 840 843-849 850-852

Figure 2. Thoracic perimeter averages in the different regions

Table 2. General graph of the total sample (7,056 subjects). Average St tt = 1677.9

(1678); sigma = 66.891; 3 sigma = 200.673. Fundamental (St tt) ratio: 1879: 1678 =

1.1197

Sttt St sd DtTc Dt Bc PmTc Pm Dd

+16 544 396 1,161 1,050

540 392 1,151 1,041

+15 535 389 1,141 1,032

530 386 1,131 1,023

+14 526 382 1,121 1,014

521 379 1,111 1,005

+13 516 375 1,101 996

511.5 372 1,091 986.5

+12 507 369 1,081 977

502 365 1,071 968

+11 497 362 1,061 959

493 350 1,051 950

+10 488 355 1,041 941

483 352 1,031 932+9 479 348 1,021 923

474 345 1,011 914

+8 2,000 1,056 469 341 1,001 905

1,979.5 1,045 464.5 338 991 895.5

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Table 2 (continued).

St tt St sdDt Tc Dt Bc Pm Tc Pm Dd

+7 1,959 1,034 460 335 981 886

1,939 1,024 455 331 971 877+6 1,919 1,013 450 328 961 868

1,899 1,003 446 324 951 859

R Ma 1,879 992 441 321 941 850

1,859 981 436 318 931 841

+4 1,839 971 432 314 921 832

1,819 960 427 311 911 823

+3 1,799 950 422 307 901 814

1,778.5 939 417.5 304 891 804.5

+2 1,758 928 413 301 881 795

1,738 918 408 297 871 786

+1 1,718 907 403 294 861 777

1,698 897 399 290 851 768

BB 1,678 886 394 287 841 759

1,658 875 389 284 831 750

-1 1,638 865 385 280 821 741

1,618 854 380 277 811 732-2 1,598 844 375 273 801 723

1,577.5 833 370.5 270 791 713.5

-3 1,557 822 366 267 781 704

1,537 812 361 263 771 695

-4 1,517 801 356 260 761 686

1,497 791 352 256 751 677

R Mi 1,477 780 347 253 741 668

1,457 769 342 250 731 659

-6 1,437 759 338 246 721 650

1,417 748 333 243 711 641

-7 1,397 738 328 239 701 632

1,376.5 727 323.5 236 691 622.5

-8 1,356 716 319 233 681 613

314 229 671 604

-9 309 226 661 595

305 222 651 586-10 300 219 641 577

295 216 631 568

-11 291 212 621 559

286 209 611 550

-12 281 205 601 541

276.5 202 591 531.5

-13 272 199 581 522

267 195 571 513

-14 262 192 561 504

258 188 551 495

-15 253 185 541 486

248 182 531 477

-16 244 178 521 468

Ma-Mi 402 212 94 68 200 182

Gd 40.2 21.2 9.4 6.8 20 18.2

Gd/2 20.1 10.6 4.7 3.4 10 9.1


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Constitutional Research on Italian Army Recruits 73

total sample, and Table 3 lists the average values for all dimensions in thedifferent regions considered.

The successive preparation of the data was carried out according to thecustomary anthropometrographic method. This makes it possible to obtain avery large number of types of differential diagnoses from a small number ofguiding diagnoses: six (restricted system) with regard to the morphy (paralongi-, parameso-, parabrevilineal between the harmonics; dolicho-, meso-, andbrachytypes between the disharmonies) and three for the somy (mega-, meso-,microsomes); the two (morphy and somy) combined provide, consequently,eighteen different cases. But the types of groups (arrangements with repetition)

of partial diagnoses, in classes of six, and taking into account the five types ofpartial diagnoses, total 15,625, permitting valid representation of individualvariability.

Table 3. Average measurements corresponding to the regional basomorphs

Region St tt St sd Dt Tc Dt Bc Pm Tc Pm Dd

Piedmont 1,715 900 392 281 838 761Lombardy 1,711 899 393 279 838 758

Venetia 1,688 894 393 281 849 767Emilia 1,711 878 395 284 847 768

Tuscany 1,711 900 395 283 850 771

Marches 1,685 885 391 278 843 767Abruzzi 1,676 888 391 280 852 777

Latium 1,694 895 396 280 849 767

Campania 1,655 876 388 277 840 761

Puglia 1,656 880 387 275 835 752

Basilicata 1,639 917 386 275 836 761Calabria 1,656 878 385 275 830 747

Sicily 1,651 863 385 275 838 751

Sardinia 1,646 899 381 274 830 744

General BB 1,678 886 394 287 841 759

We must emphasize the presence in the above list of three types with acentral trend: paramesolineal, the closest to average normality, taken in a wider

sense than the ideal and theoretical one, represented by our basomorphs

(symbol BB) which correspond (each for a sample or a population) toQuetelet's average statistical individual; finally mesotypes which, as we know,indicate disharmonic subjects in which neither the trend to the longilineal formnor that toward the brevilineal prevails.

The main results of our survey will be found in Tables 1 through 4 and

Figures 1 through 6.

Among others, the minimum and maximum figures in the regionalbasomorphs are evident (Table 3): Basilicata (1,639) and Piedmont (1,715) forSt tt; Sicily (863) and Basilicata (917) for St sd; Sardinia (381) and Latium(396) for Dt Tc; Sardinia (274) and Emilia (284) for Dt Bc;


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Table 4. Diagnoses relative to regional basomorphs

Region Partial diagnoses Guiding diagnoses

Piedmont = Lo Br = Lo Lo paramesolineal mesomorphs

Lombardy = Lo Br Lo Lo Lo paralongilineal mesomorphs

Venetia = Lo Br Br Br Lo paramesolineal megamorphsEmilia Lo Lo Br Br Lo Lo paralongilineal mesomorphs

Tuscany = Lo Br Br = Lo paramesolineal megamorphs

Marches Lo Lo Br Br Br Lo paramesolineal mesomorphs

Abruzzi Br Lo Br Br Br Lo parabrevilineal mesomorphs

Latium = Lo Br = Br Lo paramesolineal megamorphs

Campania Br Lo Br Br Br Lo parabrevilineal micromorphs

Puglia Br Lo = Br Br Lo paramesolineal micromorphsBasilicata Bra Lo Br Br Br Dol parabrevilineal micromorphs

Calabria Br Lo Lo Br = Lo paramesolineal micromorphs

Sicily Lo Lo Lo Br Br Lo paralongilineal micromorphs

Sardinia Br Lo Lo Br = Dol paramesolineal micromorphs


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Constitutional Research on Italian Army Recruits 75

Sardinia, with Calabria, (830) and the Abruzzi (852), for Pm Tc; andfinally Sardinia (744) and the Abruzzi (777) for Pm Dd.

Generally speaking, the tables and figures are sufficient to emphasizethe differential characteristics of the various regions. It is important,however, to point out that the relative antitheses which arise from thedifferential diagnoses by the regional basomorphs of the north(tendency toward longiliny) and of the south of Italy (tendency toward

breviliny) (Table 4) are very clear in Figure 3 and are confirmed by thecrossed anthropometrograms in Figures 4, 5, and 6. Also interesting isthe demonstration (Table 5) of the clear prevalence 75.4 percent of harmonic subjects (harmony in its widest sense) and among them, ofthe paralongilineal (18.2 percent) and paramesolineal micromorphs(14.3 percent); also evident is the smaller frequency (0.99 percent) of

mesotype mesomorphs among the disharmonics.

In conclusion, we hope that constitutional research will become an

increasingly important area of research, not only as it contributes togeneral scientific knowledge of human populations, but also because ofthepractical importance of relative diagnoses.


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76 LUIGI LUIGI BRIAN, ANTONIO GUERCI

Table 5. Individual anthropometrographic type frequencies

Megamorphs Mesomorphs Micromorphs

number percent number percent number percent

Harmonics

Paralongilineal 518 7.4 376 5.3 1,283 18.2

Paramesolineal 571 8.1 331 4.7 1,013 14.3

Parabrevilineal 476 6.5 194 2.7 582 8.2

Total harmonics:

number 5,344

percent 75.4

Disharmonics

Dolichotypes 144 2.1 286 4.1 400 5.7

Mesotypes 133 1.9 70 0.99 137 1.9

Brachytypes 297 4.2 142 2.01 123 1.7

Total disharmonics:

number 1,732

percent24.6


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Constitutional Research on Italian Army Recruits

St tt St sd Dt Tc Dt Bc Pm Tc Pm Dd

+5

+4

+3

+2

+1

BB

1

2

3

4

5

=Lombardy BB on Sicily GG

---------------------- = Sicily BB onLombardy GG

Figure 6. Crossed anthropometrograms: Lombardy and Sicily

REFERENCES

BARBARA, M.

1957 La dottrina delle costituzioni umane.Turin: Minerva Medica.

BRIAN, L.

1960 Antropometrografia. Contributo ad una rielaborazione della metodologia costituzionalistica. Actes du VPCongres International des Sciences Anthropologiques et Ethnologiques. Paris.

1964 Les applications de la mthodique anthropomtrographique: contribution au problme de la standardisation

en anthropologie constitutionnelle. Actes du VIIe Congrs International des Sciences Anthropologiques etEthnologiques. Moscow.

1968 Types morpho-psychologiques d'athltes des plus communes spcialits sportives. Actes du VIIIme Congrs

International des Sciences Anthropologiques et Ethnologiques.Tokyo.

DAVENPORT, C. B.

1927 Guide to anthropometry and anthroposcopy. English Research Association Handbook: series 1 (Baltimore).

HRDLI

KA, A.1952 Practical anthropometry. Philadelphia: Wistar Institute of Anatomy and Biology.

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LANDOGNA CASSONE, F.

1955 La costituzionalistica nel suo sviluppo e negli aspetti antropologici. Rome: Bonacci.

LIVI, R.

1896 Antropometria militare. Risultati ottenuti dallo spoglio dei fogli sanitari dei militaridelle classi 1859-63. Rome: II Giornale Medico del Regio Esercito.

MARTIN, R., K. SALLER

1957 Lehrbuch der Anthropologie. Stuttgart: Fischer.

MARTINY, M.

1948 Essai de biotypologie humaine. Paris: Peyronnet.

PENDE, N., M. MARTINY1955 Trait de mdecine biotypologique. Paris: Doin.

VANDERVAEL, F.

1964 Biomtrie humaine. Paris: Masson.

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LUIGI BRIAN and ANTONIO GUERCI - Constituional Research on Italian Army