Morphometric analysis of the orbit in dry human skulls in Northeast Brazil

Abstract

Introduction: The orbit is a bone cavity in the skull. Its morphological and anthropological knowledge is essential, as it is a region subjected to several surgical procedures. Objective: To analyze the morphology of orbits in the skulls of two populations in Northeastern Brazil Methods: 115 skulls belonging to Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB) and Federal University of Ceará (UFC) were analyzed. The skulls were categorized into three types: Megaseme, Mesoseme and Microseme. Quantitative analysis included these measurements: orbital height (OH), Orbital Breadth (OB) and index orbital (OI). Data were prepared for statistical analysis using IBM SPSS 23 software, with a significance level of 5%. Results: 58 skulls (50.4%) were female and 57 (49.6%) were male. The sample consisted of 91 (79.1%) skulls from UFPB and 24 (20.9%) from UFC. At UFPB, 85.16% of the orbits were Microseme, 12.64%, Mesoseme and 2.2%, Megaseme. In the UFC, 58.3% were Microseme, 25%, Mesoseme and 16.7%, Megaseme. Considering both populations, 79.6% of the orbits were microseme, 15.2%, mesoseme and 5.2%, megaseme. There were no differences in morphometric parameters between the orbits (p> 0.05). When comparing the two populations studied, there were significant differences in the variables OI and OB (p <0.05). Conclusions: Orbits were of the Microseme type. No difference between the height of the UFC and UFPB orbits was found, however, there was a difference in OI and OB. These regional differences corroborate the clinical and surgical importance of the morphological study of the orbit, as it undergoes changes depending on the population.