School drop out, Child labour, Manual work, Harmful work, Education, NSSO, India,

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IntrOductIOnThe human Occipital Condyle (OC) is the distinctive bony structure linking the skull and the vertebral column [1]. The OC partly cover the fringe of the foramen magnum anteriorly and form an articulation with the superior articular facets on the lateral masses of the atlas inferiorly. Each OC which is oval in outline and oriented obliquely is traversed by hypoglossal canal. A condylar fossa is situated just posterior to the OC and can contain a posterior condylar canal for an emissary vein from the sigmoid sinus. Laterally, the occipital bone connects with the petrous part of the temporal bone anteriorly and the mastoid process posteriorly [2].During interventional operations; the direction, angle and position of the nail may change according to the OC morphometry and the difference in measurements may alter the surgical procedure [3]. Occipital plates are frequently utilized during occipitocervical fixation but the complex anatomy of the craniocervical junction poses challenge during these procedures [4]. The surgical mistakes in this region may damage the neuro-vascular structure and result in craniocervical instability. Further, the management of ventrally placed space-occupying lesion at the level of foramen magnum necessitates the use of dorsal approach as high rate of morbidity and complications are frequently linked with ventral approaches. This requires transcondylar approach demanding partial resection of the OC which is a vital step for entrance to the ventral and ventrolateral foramen magnum [1]. Hence, the surgical instrumentation of the craniovertebral region necessitates a thorough anatomical knowledge of the OC.Differences exist in OC morphometric values across different study populations. So far, out of the studies available, few determine the morphometry of OC, especially in the Indian population [1,[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. The present study quantified morphometric characteristics of the OC which are mandatory for safe screw placement during surgical instrumentation of this region. MAterIAls And MethOdsThe present study included 228 OC of 114 adult human skulls of unknown sex which were part of the osteological collection of the Department of Anatomy. The study commenced in July, 2015 and accomplished in May, 2016. Skulls that were damaged or those with deformities, which may influence measurements, were excluded from the study and only intact skulls in good condition were studied. All linear measurements were ascertained using digital Vernier's calliper with 0.01mm precision while angular measurements were recorded with software Image J. [Table/ Fig-1

child labour, education, empowerment, NSSO India,