Introduction 
Reliable information on human body size, shape as well as composition 
is a constant requirement in many fields of medicine, anthropology, physiolo- 
gy, epidemology or surgery. The surface area-volume relation, for instance, 
presents a crucial clinical parameter of the total body metabolic process but 
equally important is body fat for the metabolism of estrogenes or the normal 
cyclic menstrual function. Consequently, circumference, surface area and vo- 
lume measurements are often coupled with skin-fold thickness measurements. 
Sloan et al. (1962) have thus reported on body density prediction using 
circumference and skin-fold thickness measurements. Jones and Pearson (1969) 
combined the latter with leg volume calculation in estimating total leg sub- 
cutaneous fat and muscle-plus-bone volume. Stereophotogrammetric determina- 
tion of body surface area has also been reported in connection with body fat 
calculation, e.g. by Bugyi (1972). Leg measurements can play a leading part 
in body fat calculation; besides, if taken proportionally they can provide a 
measure for total body fat. 
Leg volume is also important in clinical angiology (see Tympanidis and 
Zoumbouli-Vafiadi (1980)),e.g. in connection with deep venous thromboses, 
post-thrombotic syndromes or elephantiasis; and in other fields of research, 
Katch (1974) having thus reported on its correlation with work output. 
The purpose of the present work is the validation of a simple moiré pho- 
tographic method for lower limb girth, surface area and volume determination. 
Research work by the authors on volume changes in legs treated for fatness is 
infact already in progress.  Freliminary results obtained solely from direct 
measurements have been published in Tympanidis and Zoumbouli-Vafiadi (1980). 
Skin-fold thickness is also measured in order to evaluate subcutaneous fat 
changes due to treatment. 
Photography and Anthropometry 
Body surface area and volume are among the most difficult measurements 
in human anthropometry, and there exist various direct and indirect methods 
as reviewed by Weissman and Herron (1967). Stereophotogrammetry is one of 
these, and its accuracies are verysatisfactory indeed (Hertzberg et al.(1957); 
Weissman and Herron (1967)). But stereophotogrammetry usually involves 
complicated procedures and instruments, depth data being infact "stored" in 
the combination of two images; clinicians tend, therefore, to regard it as 
uneconomical or even as "too" accurate, being eager for simpler methods which 
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