Anatomical Landmarks
Definition
Fixed cranial reference points (about 25 are used) including glabella, nasion, gonion, gnathion, zygion and prosthion that must align with corresponding soft-tissue features in the photograph.
Related terms
- AnthropoScope
- Computerised three-dimensional skull and facial reconstruction system using laser scans of the skull and soft-tissue prediction from CT databases.
- FACES
- American computerised composite and reconstruction software (IQ Biometrix) used to generate two-dimensional faces from cranial and witness data.
- Glabella
- The midline prominence on the frontal bone between the superciliary arches. Scored 1 (flat, female) to 5 (highly prominent, male). Correlated with...
- Gonion
- The most posterior and inferior point of the mandibular angle, bilaterally. Used in superimposition to assess the width of the jaw angle...
- Manchester Method
- Three-dimensional facial reconstruction technique developed by Richard Neave at the University of Manchester, building clay muscle by muscle on a skull cast...
- Nasion
- The anatomical landmark at the junction of the nasal bones and the frontal bone (the bridge of the nose). One of the...
- Plastic vs Sculptured Reconstruction
- Plastic (two-dimensional) reconstruction draws the face on a photograph or sketch of the skull; sculptured (three-dimensional) reconstruction builds the face physically in...
- Soft-Tissue Thickness
- Distance from a cranial landmark to the overlying skin surface, measured in millimetres; varies with sex, age, BMI and population, and forms...
- Superimposition
- Overlay technique that matches an unidentified skull with an antemortem photograph of a suspected individual to test anatomical consistency.
- Video Superimposition
- The updated superimposition workflow using a motorised skull turntable, a calibrated video camera, and real-time electronic mixing of the skull video image...
Explained in
- Skull Superimposition and Facial ReconstructionFixed cranial reference points (about 25 are used) including glabella, nasion, gonion, gnathion, zygion and prosthion that must align with corresponding soft-t...