A study of foramen magnum and its clinical relevance

Abstract

Introduction: Foramen magnum is very important land mark as it is closely related with brainstem and spinal cord. Morphometric parameters of foramen magnum are required for forensic investigations & anthropological identification of unknown individual. As there is paucity of literature regarding variations in size & shape in reference to different races which prompted us for this study. Aims and Objective: The aim was to study the morphology of foramen magnum that can be applied for many invasive surgical as well as diagnostic procedures, which carried out in brain. Materials and Methods: In this cross sectional study, 50 adult human skulls were taken from the department of anatomy. Various parameters of foramen magnum like antero-posterior diameter, transverse diameter along with the measurement of area of dry human adult skull were calculated using vernier caliper to an accuracy of 0.1mm. Mean standard deviation and p value were also calculated. The distribution of shapes into oval, round, tetragonal, irregular, diamond were also assessed visually. Results: The commonest shape found was oval followed by irregular. In this study on 100 sides of 50 dry Skulls the mean Antero-posterior diameter, Transverse diameter are as 34.08 ± 2.25 mm & 28.17 ± 2.85mm. The measurement of area in foramen magnum of dry skull is 757.41±115.09 mm2. This data were then compared and analyzed with the various other studies. Conclusion: The anatomical knowledge of Foramen magnum is of great importance for Neurologist, Radiologist & Anthropologist to achieve the best exposure with appropriate surgical outcome. Keywords: Foramen magnum, Skull, Anatomical variations, Morphometric analysis.