A Morphometric Study of Occipital Condyles and Foramen Magnum in Adult Skull Base in Western Maharashtra Region of India

Abstract

Background: The base of the skull has foramina and bony features that bear significant anatomical and surgical importance, foramen magnum and occipital condyles being two such important anatomical entities. Hence a clear understanding of their position, anatomy and dimensions is necessary. With this aim in mind the study was designed to: a) determine the distances between the anterior and posterior bony points of occipital condyles and assess the variation on the right and left side b) determine the dimensions of foramen magnum c) the differences of these measurements between the male and female genders. Materials and Methods: 100 (male-59; female-41) dry adult human skulls were obtained from the Dept. of Anatomy and Forensic Medicine & Toxicology of Grant Medical College in Mumbai, India. A millimetric sliding vernier caliper was used to measure the distances. The statistical analysis was done using the statistical package Graph Pad Prism 5 software. Results: The mean axial length of the occipital condyle (ALOC) was found out to be greater on the left side as compared to the right but the difference was not statistically significant. The measurements were greater in the male skulls than the female skulls, for both the sides and the difference was statistically significant. The anterior intercondylar distance was found to be higher in female skulls but the difference between the genders was statistically not significant. The average anteroposterior diameter of foramen magnum (ADFM) was greater in the male skulls; the difference between the genders was statistically not significant. As opposed to this the transverse diameter (TDFM) was found to be greater in the female skulls but the difference was statistically not significant. Conclusions: The study gives an insight about these dimensions in a subset of population in the western Maharashtra region of India. Further studies with larger sample size are required to validate these findings and its applicability in a clinical scenario.