Morphometric Evaluation of Foramen Magnum and Its Variation with Sex and Age among Computed Tomography Scanned Individuals at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Abstract

Foramen magnum is one of the several apertures in the base of the skull, through which medulla oblongata and other vital structures are transmitted. Knowledge on the normal anatomy of the base of the skull, especially the foramen magnum and its associated structures, is important to correlate its morphometric features with relevant clinical practices and may be in sex determination. Some anatomical features and gender differences in the human cranium are unique to each population and may be influenced by genetic, environmental and socio-demographic factors. In the present study morphometry of foramen magnum and its variation with sex and age was evaluated. The anteroposterior diameter (APD), transverse diameter (TD), and the area of foramen magnum (AFM) of each CT scan images of individuals who had head computed tomography scan at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital, Addis Ababa, were measured by using institutional picture archiving and communication system workstation through institutional MedWeb. The overall APD of FM was 34.55 ± 3.21mm, TD was 28.48 ± 3.03mm and AFM was 814.77 ± 126.52mm2 in the present study. The mean of measurements of all the three evaluated parameters of foramen magnum was larger in males and the differences were statistically significant at P ˂ 0.05 between sexes. However, no statistically significant (P > 0.05) difference wasdetected in all the measured parameters among different age groups. In conclusion, the result of our study has reinforced the idea of likelihood of determining sex by evaluating the morphology of foramen magnum when essential.