Studies of the basicranial axis: a brief review.

Abstract

Growth and development of the cranial base have interested students of anatomical disciplines for more than a century. Flexure of the basal region has been of particular interest and is among the most assiduously studied characteristics of the skull. Reports may be found in journals serving such a diversity of professional interests that a summary of facts and the more interesting speculations on unsettled aspects of this subject should be of value. This paper is a review of the literature from Virschow's and Schaeffer's writings in the latter half of the last century to those of the most recent investigators. It includes the works of anatomists, anthropologists, embryologists and orthodontists, among others.