Roentgencephalometric analysis of the skulls of the Luxemburgs, the second Bohemian Royal Dynasty.

X-ray films of the skull of the king and emperor Charles IV and his four wives and two sons were made under standard conditions with the mandibles fixed in a centric occlusion. The results of roentgenocephalometric analysis were compared with norms valid for the contemporary Czech population. Consistent with the somatic condition of Charles IV, the findings indicate an above-average large face with the usual anteriorotational developmental type. The facial skeleton is structurally harmonious, but the sagittal intermaxillary relations belong into skeletal class II with a relatively retruded lower jaw in relation to the upper one. This is associated with a greater maxillary overjet of the upper incisors. The disharmony was caused by a fracture of the mandibular condyles. Reconstruction of the condition before the injury revealed an originally normal anteroposterior relationship of the jaws (skeletal class I) and occlusion of the incisors. As to the shape of the cranium, Charles IV's wives differ in basic features. In two, for different reasons, we find skeletal class II (retrogenia), in one skeletal class III (progenia) and only in Elizabeth of Pomerania, with marked flattening of the cranial base and posteriorotation of the face are the anteroposterior relations of the two jaws normal (skeletal class I). Wenceslas IV differs from his parents Charles IV and Anne of Svidnic by a flat cranial base which pushes the lower jaw backwards, however, it does not cause its posteriorotation; we find, similarly as in the father and mother, an anteriorotational growth type of the face. In the other basic parameters of the cranium there are no marked differences between son and parents. In evaluating the similarity of the facial structure of John of Görlitz to that of his parents, disagreement is caused by the flat cranial base of the mother Elizabeth of Pomerania associated with posteriorotation of the face. In the son we find, conversely, an even more marked anteriorotation than in the father and also other parameters of the facial configuration indicating plausible agreement with the findings in Charles IV. The curving of the cranial base has an impact on the shape of the whole cranium, but the results indicate that the heritability of the rotational growth type of face and the degree of cranial base curvature probably is not very marked.