The growth of the face in relation to the cranial base
Enlow, D.H.; Hunter, W.S.
Report of the Congress. European Orthodontic Society 44: 321-335
1968
PMID: 5258417 Document Number: 5874
This study deals with the nature of direct interrelationships that exist during the growth of the mandible, the upper face, and the cranial base. The different major regions of the skull do not behave as independent growth units but, rather, enlarge in a composite manner involving a closely interdependent sequence of corresponding growth changes. A concept of 'growth equivalence' is described in which the specific events of growth that take place in any given part of the craniofacial skeleton necessarily become accompanied by complementary, equivalent counterparts of growth activity in certain other separate regions. A critical balance of growth exists between different areas, and mutual adjustments and progressive, reciprocal adaptations occur between them during continued growth. It is emphasized that all portions of the skull must be considered in relation to each other in order to interpret the composite nature of the total growth pattern meaningfully. A large number of such specific growth equivalents occur throughout the skull as a whole, and those that have been identified to date are described and discussed in the present report. Preliminary cephalometric analyses of the equivalents have also been made.
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