[Asymmetry of the human facial nerve].

Measurements of the right and left facial skull were carried out in 6 different series of skulls: two europeoid, Russian and Georgian; two mongoloid, Buryat and Eskimo; and two skulls of mixed origin, Khakass and Udmurt ones, in order to assess the bilateral asymmetry. The measurements included 18 signs characterizing the width, height, and length of the facial skull. Sums of all right-side and left-side signs were the integral parameters of the right and left halves of the facial skull. A compensatory type of asymmetry variations was revealed. All the components of the facial skull regarded individually demonstrate clear asymmetry, whereas the total summary size of both halves of the facial skull is similar. The cause of the symmetrical combination of whole parts in the presence of evident asymmetry of various elements of the facial skull is differently directed asymmetry of various extent. The results are discussed in the context of the evolution of human functions and the relevant transformation of the morphologic structure in the anthropogenesis.