Morphologie céphalique humaine. Données anthropométriques du vivant

The function of the human face is essentially social; it conveys the expressions and carries notions such as identity, beauty, and harmony. The assessment of cephalic morphology ignores beauty but it measures the identity while taking into account the harmony which remains not quantifiable. Cephalic anthropometry refers to the comprehensive study of the shapes and lines of the head anatomic areas, in the child during the growth, and then in adults. Dysmorphoses were initially qualitatively described. This descriptive approach has evolved and is now replaced by more accurate quantitative methods. The reproducibility of anthropometric measurements has been useful in establishing basic standards that allow differentiating heterogeneity from dysmorphy. The great variability of the human head makes the morphometric examination difficult, in particular the determination of abnormalities. However, accurate morphologic examination should always result in precise diagnosis, whatever the age, gender, and ethnicity.