Morphological Classification of Facial Features in Adult Caucasian Males Based on an Assessment of Photographs of 50 Subjects

• NCJ Number: 165753
• Journal: Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 41 Issue: 5 Dated: (September 1996) Pages: 786-791
• Author(s): P Vanezis; D Lu; J Cockburn; A Gonzalez; G McCombe; O Trujillo; M Vanezis
• Date Published: 1996
• Length: 6 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Technical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Fifty sets of photographs showing facial features of Caucasian males aged 18 to 60 years were examined to establish a morphological classification of the face.

Abstract

The majority of photograph sets consisted of full, frontal, left and right lateral, and left and right three-fourths profile views. In two cases, no frontal view was available. All photographs depicted faces with a neutral expression. Despite the limited number of photograph sets examined, it was possible to determine which facial features were likely to be of practical use in formulating a morphological classification of the face. Difficulty was encountered in consistently discriminating between facial features, for example, between arched and curved eyebrows. Facial features could not be described as permanent because they could easily be changed. Criteria for inclusion in the morphological classification were ease of discrimination among facial subset features, good agreement among assessors, nonreliance on anthropometric data, permanence of facial features, and facial features that were part of normal morphological anatomical variation. The morphological facial classification developed for future use included 25 facial feature categories. 9 references and 1 table