| Dolichocephaly | |
|---|---|
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| Dolichocephaly (scaphocephaly) in a 10-year-old | |
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| Dolichocephalic head shape of Lurcher-type dogs | |
| Specialty |
Medical genetics 
|
Dolichocephaly (derived from the Ancient Greek δολιχός 'long' and κεφαλή 'head') is a condition where the head is longer than would be expected, relative to its width. In humans, scaphocephaly is a form of dolichocephaly.
Dolichocephalic dogs (such as the Lurcher or German Shepherd) have elongated noses. This makes them vulnerable to fungal diseases of the nose such as aspergillosis. 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, Crouzon syndrome, Sotos syndrome,CMFTD and Marfan syndrome. Dolichocephaly may also occur non-pathologically as a result of normal variation between human populations. The standards for denoting dolichocephaly are derived from Caucasian anatomy norms, and thus describing dolichocephaly as a medical condition in some cases may fail to reflect the diversity in different human populations.