Dolichocephaly

Dolichocephaly
Dolichocephaly (scaphocephaly) in a 10-year-old
Dolichocephalic head shape of Lurcher-type dogs
Specialty	Medical genetics

Dolichocephaly (derived from the Ancient Greek δολιχός 'long' and κεφαλή 'head') is a term used to describe a head that is longer than average relative to its width. In humans, scaphocephaly is a form of dolichocephaly.

Dolichocephalic dogs (such as the Lurcher or German Shepherd) have elongated noses. This makes them vulnerable to fungal diseases of the nose such as aspergillosis.^[1] In humans the anterior–posterior diameter (length) of dolichocephaly head is more than the transverse diameter (width).^{[citation needed]}

Dolichocephaly can sometimes be a symptom of Sensenbrenner syndrome, Crouzon syndrome, Sotos syndrome,^[2] CMFTD^[3] and Marfan syndrome. However, it also occurs non-pathologically as a result of normal variation between human populations. The standards for denoting dolichocephaly are derived from Caucasian anatomy norms, and thus describing dolichocephaly as a medical condition may not reflect the diversity in different human populations.^[4] For example, dolichocephaly is typical for Australian aborigines and native southern Africans.^[5]

In anthropology, human populations have been characterized as either dolichocephalic (long-headed),

• Brachycephaly
• Cephalic index
• Plagiocephaly

References