The purpose of this study was to evaluate hard palate asymmetry during development. The palates of 248 dry skulls were photographed and evaluated digitally. The skulls were divided into seven groups: fetus, newborn, infant, child, adolescent, adult, and aged. Linear measures were obtained from great palatine foramen (GPF) to incisive fossa (INC) and to posterior nasal spine (PNS). Angular measures were obtained from the former landmarks plus the point on sutures intersection between maxillary and palatine bones. Asymmetry was evaluated intra and intergroups. All skulls showed some degree of right-left asymmetry in the hard palate. Regardless of hard palate asymmetry, none of the right-left side differences was statistically significant. For the intergroups assessment, none of the asymmetry index means were statistically different. The posterior part of palate (PNS x GPF) measures was more asymmetric than the anterior part (INC x GPF), showing, respectively, 4.6% and 2.8% of mean asymmetry index. Angular measures showed a more symmetric behavior than the linear ones. Hard palate asymmetry occurs even in the absence of masticatory function, showing that this feature begins early in fetal life and persists through development.

SUMMARY:The popliteal artery is located deep inside the popliteal fossa, and is an important landmark in surgical procedures. Lesions of this vessel and its branches can be dangerous, blocking circulation to the lower limb and leading to gangrene or even vascular failure. The aim of this work was to describe the biometric characteristics of the bifurcations of the popliteal artery and the tibiofibular trunk in relation to the head of the fibula in 38 lower limbs through dissection. The bifurcation of the both arteries was present in all the cases. The mean confidence interval for the bifurcation of the popliteal artery was from 2.82 cm to 3.18 cm from the head of the fibula, and that of the bifurcation of the tibiofibular trunk was from 5.72 cm to 6.68 cm. The bifurcation of the popliteal artery into the anterior tibial artery and tibiofibular trunk showed a more constant positioning than the level of the birfurcation of the posterior tibial artery and fibular artery. These data can help in the development of new access routes to these arteries, or the optimization of surgical planning in the region in question.