Cephalometry is the measurement of the human head by imaging

Medical imaging

Medical imaging is the technique and process used to create images of the human body for clinical purposes or medical science...

, traditionally from x-ray films.

Dentistry

Cephalometric analysis

Cephalometric analysis

Cephalometric analysis is the study of the dental and skeletal relationships in the head. It is frequently used by dentists, often orthodontists in particular, as a treatment planning tool....

 is used in dentistry

Dentistry

Dentistry is the branch of medicine that is involved in the study, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases, disorders and conditions of the oral cavity, maxillofacial area and the adjacent and associated structures and their impact on the human body. Dentistry is widely considered...

, and especially in orthodontics

Orthodontics

Orthodontics, orthodontia, or orthodonture is the first specialty of dentistry that is concerned with the study and treatment of malocclusions , which may be a result of tooth irregularity, disproportionate jaw relationships, or both...

, to gauge the size and spacial relationships of the teeth, jaw

Jaw

The jaw is any opposable articulated structure at the entrance of the mouth, typically used for grasping and manipulating food. The term jaws is also broadly applied to the whole of the structures constituting the vault of the mouth and serving to open and close it and is part of the body plan of...

s, and cranium. This analysis informs treatment planning, quantifies changes during treatment, and provides data for clinical research

Clinical research

Clinical research is a branch of medical science that determines the safety and effectiveness of medications, devices, diagnostic products and treatment regimens intended for human use...

.

Obstetrics

Ultrasound

Medical ultrasonography

Diagnostic sonography is an ultrasound-based diagnostic imaging technique used for visualizing subcutaneous body structures including tendons, muscles, joints, vessels and internal organs for possible pathology or lesions...

 cephalometry is useful for determining baby growth in utero

In utero

In utero is a Latin term literally meaning "in the womb". In biology, the phrase describes the state of an embryo or fetus. In legal contexts, the phrase is used to refer to unborn children. Under common law, unborn children are still considered to exist for property transfer purposes.-See also:*...

.
Cephalometry can also determine if an unborn child will pass through the birth canal. Certain 3D

Stereogram

A stereogram is pair of two-dimensional panels depicting the view of a scene or an object from the vantage points of the right and left eyes. Observing the panels superimposed in a stereoscope results in the experience of three-dimensionality by virtue of the fact that object depth is encoded as...

 imaging applications are now used in obstetric cephalometry.

See Also

• Craniometry
• Cranial vault
  Cranial vault
  The cranial vault is the space in the skull within the neurocranium, occupied by the brain. In humans, the size and shape of the brain, may be affected by the size of the vault as shown in craniometry, but studies relating it to intelligence have been ambivalent...
  
  
• Craniofacial Anthropometry
• Anthropometry
  Anthropometry
  Anthropometry refers to the measurement of the human individual...
  
  
• Phrenology
  Phrenology
  Phrenology is a pseudoscience primarily focused on measurements of the human skull, based on the concept that the brain is the organ of the mind, and that certain brain areas have localized, specific functions or modules...