Morphometric Study of Metopic suture in Adult North Indian skulls

Abstract

Background: A suture is a type of fibrous joint which only occurs in the skull or cranium. They are bound together by sharpey”s fibre. A tiny amount of movement is permitted at sutures, which contributes to the compliance and elasticity of the skull. Sutures are junctions or line of articulation between adjacent bones of skull.Methods: The present study was carried out in the department of anatomy on Adult North Indian 100 Skulls of unknown age and sex which were obtained from the osteology section of Integral Institute of Medical Sciences and Research & King George medical university. 20 damaged and diseased skulls were excluded from the study and 80 skulls were observed.Results: In our study we observed 66 (82.50%) skulls who had neither complete nor incomplete metopic suture. 14 skulls (17.5%) had metopic suture either in the form of complete or incomplete. Complete metopic suture was found in two skulls (2.50%) and incomplete suture was observed in twelve skulls (15%). Among the incomplete metopic sutures, the incidence of linear incomplete metopic suture was 9/80 (11.25%), inverted 'U' shaped incomplete metopic suture was 1/80 (1.25%) and 'V' shaped incomplete suture was 2/80 (2.5%).Conclusions: Knowledge regarding persistent metopic suture is essential in studying the radiographs to avoid misinterpretation as fractures. It is also useful in evaluating various medico legal cases.