Statistical testing of an allometric centered model of craniofacial growth.

An allometric centered model of craniofacial growth was tested by several computer-assisted statistical methods on the pure longitudinal growth data of twenty-four close-bred female rats and on cross-sectional human cranial growth data. The study demonstrated that such a model was heuristic and, being incapable of exact definition, was deemed inappropriate for further use in modeling of craniofacial skeletal growth. The necessity for vigorous testing of any hypothesis concerning the modeling of craniofacial growth is stressed.