There are many environmental and genetic factors that disrupt the stable structure of development in organisms. Although the strength of these vary, they leave certain signs in the body structure. Fluctuating asymmetry is a widely used population-level index of developmental instability, developmental noise, and robustness. Many bilateral traits are used in fluctuating asymmetry studies in humans. These traits include dermatoglyphics, limb lengths and widths, bilateral facial characters, and teeth. In this review, I evaluate the measurement methods of many bilateral anthropometric characters, taken from the bodies of living individuals with classical digital calipers.
Keywords: anthropometry; developental instability; fluctuating asymmetry.
© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Portland Press Limited on behalf of the Biochemical Society and the Royal Society of Biology.