Revision of neoclassical facial canons in young adult Afro-Americans.

The validity of seven neoclassical facial canons was tested in 100 young, adult, Afro-American (A-A) males and females, and the results were compared with 103 North American Caucasians, producing the first reliable information about the differences of facial proportions in the two populations. Although the canons should not be regarded as strict directives in reconstructive and esthetic surgery, the data obtained from the study offered the first information about the facial proportion qualities of Afro-Americans in relation to the white population. In the absence of a detailed facial proportion study in A-As, the findings in canons can assist in planning the surgery. Comparison of the two populations revealed that the three sections of the facial profile were not equal in either population. In an A-A sample it showed the prevalence of the long lower face height also in relation to the height of the forehead. In horizontal canons of the orbital regions, the similarity between the two populations was demonstrated by the great frequency of intercanthal spaces to be wider than the length of the palpebral fissures [1]. The facial canons, including the nose width, relatively wider [2] in A-A than in white subjects, prompted the difference between A-A and Caucasians in frequency and degree in the dominant canon variations. The greater inclination of the nasal bridge than that of the medial longitudinal axis of the ear was a very frequent canon variation in both populations. Generally, the frequency of valid canons was greatly surpassed by their variations.