[Postnatal growth of the facial skeleton (2)]

As suggested in the first article of this series, much of what we know, or believe to know, about growth of the craniofacial skeleton, is but an oversimplification and an underestimation of the real nature of this extremely complex phenomenom. This second part is a brief compendium of research and principles on which the previous paper is based. Information included is partly the result of several years of research, as well as some notions of a speculative nature. In both cases, emphasis centers on the type of information deemed necessary if we pretend some day to understand fully why the face grows as it does. Additionally, some forms are proposed to prove ideas which aim to explain craniofacial growth. The main objective of this article is to provide elements that may allow us to understand the interrelation between structure and function in craniofacial anatomy, thereby establishing the bases of "functional symmetry" as a promising attempt to provide new elements leading to a better understanding of craniofacial biology.