Biometry is the application of mathematical models to living systems. The use of statistics and mathematics as a tool for interpreting experimental data has proven invaluable to biologists, public health practitioners, researchers, and environmental scientists in areas such as genetics, toxicology, neurology, and clinical trials. Once considered a fledgling application of mathematics, biometry has proven to be a vital field playing a central role in substantive scientific and social issues of the day.

History of the Discipline

English scientist Francis Galton (1822-1911) is considered the founder of the biometric school. He strongly believed that virtually everything could be proven mathematically—that everything was quantifiable. Following this belief, Galton's first experiments (performed around 1850) included using statistical models to measure beauty and the effectiveness of prayer. Later, he came up with his own theory to explain inheritance: the theory of ancestral heredity. This theory held that each parent contributes one-half...