facial angle

Facial Angle, an anatomical term for the angle contained between two imaginary lines, one from the most prominent part of the forehead to the anterior extremity of the alveolar process of the upper jaw, opposite to the incisor teeth; the other from the external auditory foramen to the same point, serving to measure the elevation of the forehead. This angle is of great service in ethnology, but its magnitude is not an infallible criterion of the intellectual capacity of an individual.