The cephalic index or cranial index is the ratio of the maximum width of the head of an organism multiplied by 100 divided by its maximum length (i.e., in the horizontal plane, or front to back).
The index was widely used by anthropologists in the early twentieth century to categorize human populations, and by Carleton S. Coon in the 1960s. Today it is mainly used to describe individuals' appearances and for estimating the age of fetuses for legal and obstetrical reasons.
The index is also used to categorize animals, especially dogs and cats.
Read more about Cephalic Index: Use in Human Anthropology, Indices, Use in Animal Breeding
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