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Frankfurt Horizontal Plane

Definition

The anatomical reference plane defined by the upper border of the external acoustic meatus and the lowest point of the orbital margin (orbitale), used to standardise skull orientation in superimposition and in many anthropometric comparisons.

Related terms

Consistent with
The categorical superimposition conclusion that examined morphological features do not exclude the skull as deriving from the same individual as the portrait....
Exclusion
The categorical conclusion that one or more examined features are clearly inconsistent in a way that cannot be explained by projection angle,...
Glaister-Brash Method
The original photographic-transparency superimposition protocol developed by John Glaister Jr and James Couper Brash for the 1935 Buck Ruxton case in Lancaster...
Gnathion
The most inferior point of the mandibular symphysis in the midline, corresponding to the tip of the chin in the portrait photograph....
Gonion
The most posterior and inferior point of the mandibular angle, bilaterally. Used in superimposition to assess the width of the jaw angle...
Iscan-Helmer 1993
The edited volume 'Forensic Analysis of the Skull' (Iscan and Helmer, Wiley-Liss, 1993) that brought together the first systematic reliability assessment of...
Nasion
The anatomical landmark at the junction of the nasal bones and the frontal bone (the bridge of the nose). One of the...
Photo-Skull Superimposition
The forensic identification method of placing a life portrait photograph alongside or overlaid on a photograph of a recovered skull, aligning them...
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

  • Photo-Skull and Video SuperimpositionThe anatomical reference plane defined by the upper border of the external acoustic meatus and the lowest point of the orbital margin (orbitale), used to stand...

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