anthropometry

anthropometry ănthrəpŏm´ətrē [key], technique of measuring the human body in terms of dimensions, proportions, and ratios such as those provided by thecephalic index. Once the standard approach to racial classification and comparing humans to other primates, the technique is now used for deciding the range of clothing sizes to be manufactured and determining the nutritional status of people.

See A. Montagu,A Handbook of Anthropometry(1960); R. McCammon,Human Growth and Development(1970).

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