GROWTH IN THE EXTERNAL CRANIAL BASE EVALUATED ON HUMAN DRY SKULLS, USING NERVE CANAL OPENINGS AS REFERENCES

The purpose of this investigation was to measure on human dry skulls t he postnatal widening and lengthening of the external cranial base, in cluding the hard palate, using nerve canal openings as references. For ty-five Indian dry skulls were examined, 36 from children and 9 from a dults. The age evaluation was made on the basis of dental development. The dimensions of the external cranial base were determined by direct measurements on the skulls and by measurements from photographs of th e skulls. The study showed that growth in width of the external crania l base followed two distinct patterns. The two regions represent diffe rent embryologic developmental fields. The study points out that diffe rent growth patterns in these fields ought to be taken into account in future investigations of normal and pathologic craniofacial growth.