On the mechanical significance of vascular imprints of the human neurocranium when impacted at 11 m/s

Abstract

The course of the middle meningeal vessels can be traced through imprints on the inner table of the human neurocranium. It is as yet unexplored whether these notches lower the load-bearing capacity of the bone when compared to areas that are free of vascular imprints. Here, 310 temporo-parietal samples with and without vascular imprints, from 52 human Crosado-embalmed cadavers, were tested in a three-point bending setup with a half-cylindrical impactor (1 mm radius of curvature) contacting the sample at 11 m/s. The maximum forces before breaking, and the thicknesses of the samples, were statistically compared, including comparing the avascular group to several groups with vascular imprints of different orientations. Furthermore, the influence of sample length and impact location were investigated. To investigate structure and mechanical function of vascular imprints concomitantly, scanning electron microscopy was performed on selected samples in two different planes. The results showed that avascular samples were on average thicker (p < 0.001) and stronger (p ≤ 0.050) compared to samples with vascular imprints. When only thickness-matched samples were analysed, the observed maximum forces of vascular and avascular samples were statistically similar (p ≥ 0.531). Regarding the load-bearing capacity of samples with vascular imprints, it was irrelevant whether the imprint was placed parallel to and directly underneath the impactor, parallel to and offset from the impactor, or perpendicular to the impactor (p > 0.999). The overall results of this study were statistically unrelated to both sample length (p ≥ 0.720) and impact location (p > 0.999). Scanning electron microscopy revealed that vascular imprints are formed through a curve of the inner table. Perforating holes of the inner table are present in avascular areas, however, they are considerably larger in size and higher in number within vascular imprints. In conclusion, vascular imprints are formed through curving of the inner table. In numerical models of human head mechanics, vascular imprints can be accounted for through a simple thinning of the bone assuming the same load-bearing capacity as for the surrounding imprint-free areas.