Dolichocephaly (derived from the
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...
δολιχός 'long' and
κεφαλή 'head') is a condition where the head is longer than would be expected,
relative to its width. In humans,
scaphocephaly
Scaphocephaly is a type of cephalic disorder which occurs when there is a premature fusion of the sagittal suture. The sagittal suture joins together the two parietal bones of the skull. Scaphocephaly is the most common of the craniosynostosis co ...
is a form of dolichocephaly.
Dolichocephalic dogs (such as
German Shepherds
The German Shepherd or Alsatian is a German breed of working dog of medium to large size. The breed was developed by Max von Stephanitz using various traditional German herding dogs from 1899.
It was originally bred as a herding dog, for h ...
) have elongated noses. This makes them vulnerable to fungal diseases of the nose such as
aspergillosis
Aspergillosis is a fungal infection of usually the lungs, caused by the genus ''Aspergillus'', a common mould that is breathed in frequently from the air around, but does not usually affect most people. It generally occurs in people with lung di ...
.
In humans the anterior–posterior diameter (length) of dolichocephaly head is more than the transverse diameter (width).
It can be present in cases of
Sensenbrenner syndrome
Sensenbrenner syndrome (OMIM #218330) is a rare (less than 20 cases reported by 2010) multisystem disease first described by Judith A. Sensenbrenner in 1975. It is inherited in an autosomal recessive fashion, and a number of genes appear to be resp ...
,
Crouzon syndrome
Crouzon syndrome is an autosomal dominant genetic disorder known as a branchial arch syndrome. Specifically, this syndrome affects the first branchial (or pharyngeal) arch, which is the precursor of the maxilla and mandible. Since the branchial ...
,
Sotos syndrome
Sotos syndrome is a rare genetic disorder characterized by excessive physical growth during the first years of life. Excessive growth often starts in infancy and continues into the early teen years. The disorder may be accompanied by autism, mild ...
,
as well as
Marfan syndrome.
See also
*
Brachycephaly
Brachycephaly (derived from the Ancient Greek '' βραχύς'', 'short' and '' κεφαλή'', 'head') is the shape of a skull shorter than typical for its species. It is perceived as a desirable trait in some domesticated dog and cat breeds, ...
*
Cephalic index
*
Plagiocephaly
Plagiocephaly, also known as flat head syndrome, is a condition characterized by an asymmetrical distortion (flattening of one side) of the skull. A mild and widespread form is characterized by a flat spot on the back or one side of the head cause ...
References
External links
Congenital disorders of musculoskeletal system
{{musculoskeletal-disease-stub