Evidence of differential growth in the human skull from sagittal and transversal deviations of landmarks.

The differences in position along, and deviations from the midline of six landmarks on the base and face of 51 recent skulls of recorded sex and age from Middle Europe were studied. There is accordance between the average anatomical position of the landmarks and their mean vertical distances from the line connecting the two poria. The majority of the specimens show deviations from the midline predominantly towards the left half of the skull. Variation of the landmarks is discussed with respect to differing growth processes and with respect to the frequently asymmetric location of the two poria cited in the literature.