| Dolichocephaly | |
| Alt2: | Dolichocephalic head shape on a black lurcher dog |
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).
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), mesocephalic (moderate-headed), or brachycephalic (short-headed). The usefulness of the cephalic index was questioned by Giuseppe Sergi, who argued that cranial morphology provided a better means to model racial ancestry.[6]