Brachycephalic, dolichocephalic and mesocephalic: is it appropriate to describe the face using skull patterns?

Abstract

The use of a standardized terminology in the medical sciences is essential for both clinical practice and scientific research. In addition to facilitating communication between professionals, it enhances the reliability of comparisons made between studies from different areas, thereby contributing to a higher level of scientific evidence. Examples of attempts made to standardize the terminology in other areas dedicated to the study of craniofacial morphology can be found in the literature. On the other hand, one can find in the orthodontic literature a variety of terms that render the consensus and communication between orthodontists and other researchers even more problematic. As an example, one could cite the use of the terms brachyfacial, mesofacial and dolichofacial, which form part of a cranial index terminology used to describe facial types. Thus, a reflection on the origin and differences of the terms used to describe the human facial phenotype may pave the way toward a consensus regarding the meaning that best represents the craniofacial patterns.Keywords: Face. Terminology. Classification. » The authors report no commercial, proprietary or financial interest in the products or companies described in this article. A padronização da nomenclatura utilizada nas ciências médicas é fundamental tanto para a prática clínica quanto para a pesquisa científica. Além de facilitar a comunicação entre os profissionais, aumenta a confiabilidade da comparação entre trabalhos de diferentes áreas, favorecendo um melhor nível de evidência científica. Exemplos de esforços, em áreas também voltadas ao estudo da morfologia craniofacial, no sentido de uniformização da terminologia podem ser encontrados na literatura médica. Por outro lado, observa-se na literatura ortodôntica uma diversidade de termos que torna mais difícil o consenso e a comunicação entre ortodontistas e demais pesquisadores. Como exemplo, pode-se citar o uso dos termos braquifacial, mesofacial e dolicofacial, terminologia relativa ao índice craniano utilizada para descrever o tipo facial. Sendo assim, a reflexão sobre a origem e diferenças dos termos utilizados para descrever o fenó-tipo facial humano pode ser útil ao consenso do significado que melhor representa o padrão craniofacial.Palavras-chave: Face. Terminologia. Classificação.

Nasal Anthropometry of Adult <i>Tiv</i> and <i>Idoma</i> Tribes of Nigeria

“…Advances in Anthropology,9,[103][104][105][106][107][108][109][110] https://doi.org/10.4236/aa.2019.92008 DOI: 10.4236/aa.2019. 92008 104 Advances in Anthropology that differentiate individuals and ethnic groups (Farkas et al, 2005;Franco et al, 2013). The nasal indices are among the most important cephalometric parameters useful in inter-racial and intra-racial morphological classification and categorization.…”

Effect of frontal facial type and sex on preferred chin projection

“…The FFT was determined using the facial index, which is the ratio between the height of the middle and lower face (soft-tissue nasion–soft-tissue gnathion) and the interzygomatic width (soft-tissue zy on the right side–soft-tissue zy on the left side) 14. The facial indices in each sex are enumerated in Table 1 according to the Martin-Saller scale 15…”

“…The most commonly used index, which can describe the FFT, is the facial index 41112131415. It represents the ratio between the height of the middle and lower face (soft-tissue nasion–soft-tissue gnathion) and the interzygomatic width (soft-tissue zy on the right side–soft-tissue zy on the left side) (Figure 1), and is classified as euryprosopic, mesoprosopic, or leptoprosopic 411121415…”

Analysis of potential dynamic concealed factors in the difficulty of lower third molar extraction

“…Likewise, the sample for the second part of the study (Group –II; n=604) consisted of subjects with different facial types, which were divided into (a) Euryprosopic; (b) Leptoproposic; and (c) Mesoprosopic, according to anthropometric facial indices (9). …”