Dimensional Analysis of the Parietal Bone in Areas of Surgical Interest and Relationship Between Parietal Thickness and Cephalic Index

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the thickness of the parietal bone in bone graft donor sites and to study the relationship between parietal bone thickness and gender or cephalic index. We studied 300 parietal bones from 150 human skulls (84 male and 66 female) from individuals aged 18 to 60 years at the time of death. On each parietal bone, 9 areas were drawn by use of reference anatomic landmarks (bregma, lambda, asterion, and pterion), and bone thickness was determined in the areas adjoining the sagittal suture--superior-anterior (Sa), superior-medial (Sm), and superior-posterior (Sp). Mean thickness measurements ranged from 2.30 to 11.25 mm in the Sa area, from 3.08 to 13.32 mm in the Sm area, and from 2.88 to 12.26 in the Sp area. Smaller mean measurements were observed in the Sa area, with the smallest mean thickness being found in brachycephalic female specimens. The largest mean thickness was also found in female specimens in the Sm area. Statistically significant differences between genders were found only in the Sa area in dolichocephalic and mesocephalic specimens. Although the best bone graft donor site surgically is different in individuals of different genders and with different cephalic indexes, our findings suggest that harvesting from the anterosuperior area of the parietal bone should not be performed.