A rare anatomical variation in foramen of Vesalius: A useful guide for maxillofacial surgeons

Background: Foramen of vesalius is an inconstant foramen that gives passage to an emissary vein that connects pterygoid venous plexus with cavernous sinus. It lies in the anteromedial side of the foramen ovale. Foramen ovale allows the passage for the mandibular branch of trigeminal nerve, the main site for the trigeminal rhizotomy. The presence and description of anatomical variations about the foramen of Vesalius is important during the surgical procedure on the trigeminal nerve which may injure the emissary vein in the foramen leading to intracranial bleeding. Objectives: The aim of the present study is to report the presence and to enlighten the anatomical variations of foramen vesalius which may serve as a guideline for surgeons. Methods: The study was conducted on 100 dry adult human skulls collected from the department of anatomy at Panimalar medical college hospital & research institute Chennai. The skulls were viewed both extracranially and intracranially to identify the presence of foramen of vesalius. The presence and variation of the foramen was noted and discussed. Result: A total of about 200 sides of 100 skulls were studied. Among them 20% of the skull showed presence of foramen of Vesalius bilaterally, 25% unilaterally and one particular skull showed doubled opening on the left side with the presence of a bony septum. This is a rare variation which was less documented in the literature. Conclusion: The knowledge of variations in foramen of Vesalius may help the surgeons for safer planning and execution of the trigeminal rhizotomy technique.

Standardization of Cephalograms Obtained From Various Imaging Systems

Objective To propose and validate a method for standardizing and printing cephalograms acquired from different imaging systems. Methods Validation of the proposed method was done using digital cephalograms, cone beam computed tomography (CBCT)-derived cephalograms, and direct measurements obtained from 3 dry human skulls. Each cephalogram was analyzed as-received and after standardization, using both manual and digital methods. 3-dimensional (3D) measurements were also computed from the CBCT images. After adequate blinding, 2 observers independently carried out all these measurements at 2 different times. Finally, the different cephalometric measurements of each skull were compared with the corresponding direct measurements (gold standard). Results The as-received digital cephalogram showed an inherent magnification of 33%, as determined from the calibration ruler. Compared to direct skull measurements, the as-received conventional and CBCT-derived cephalograms printed without standardization showed a reduction in measures of around 14% and 28%, respectively, whereas measurements obtained from cephalograms, which were standardized and printed by the proposed method, were comparable to direct measurements. Conclusions The findings of the validation study demonstrate the robustness of the proposed method in standardizing different cephalograms before printing.

Morphometric study of nasal bones and piriform apertures in human skulls

The piriform aperture (PA) is the skeletal aperture located in the middle part of the face. There are many variations in morphometric measurements of nasal bones, piriform apertures and their shapes in different population. Objective of present study was to study morphological and morphometric features of nasal bone and piriform aperture. Adult human skulls available from collection of dried skulls were used for study purpose. Skull bones of unknown age and sex were obtained. Height, width of nasal bone, height, upper and lower width of piriform aperture, shapes of nasal bone and piriform aperture were observed. Height, upper width and lower width of piriform aperture were greater in male as compared to female. This difference was not statistically significant for upper width of piriform aperture (p=0.49) and for lower width of piriform aperture (p= 0.65) while the difference in height of piriform aperture was statistically significant. (p <0.0001).Differences in Height and width of nasal bone were not statistically significant among male and female nasal bones. Most common shape of nasal bone observed was Type A followed by Type B and C. Most common shape of piriform aperture was triangular to oval (50.00) in both the gender. Majority finding of the present study are in concordance with Indian population studies while significant differences have been noted in comparison to the morphometric measurements of Turkish, Korean, Brazilian and Anatolian population. These variations might be because of differences in ethnicity.

New data on human skulls from the ritual complex of the Bystrovka-2 Early Iron Age burial ground

Various kinds of postmortem manipulations with the bodies of the dead were widespread in the ritual practice of the Scythian tribes of Eurasia. One of the evidences of such practice is finds of isolated skeletal bones or skulls buried in an unusual context. One of the sites where such finds was discovered is the Bystrovka-2 burial ground of the Kamenka archaeological culture in the Novosibirsk Ob region. In the kurgan 9 of this site, a ritual complex containing the burial of three human skulls, previously displayed on stakes or poles was excavated. In this article we present the results of recent anthropological analyzes of these skulls and discuss the question concerning the origin of the sacrificed people. The analyzed data allow us to say that in the Kamenka society, putting heads on poles rather had an apotropic function than was connected with military cults. The sacrificed people were selected from the strongest and healthiest young people. The condition of the bones of the skull and dentition of the examined individuals definitely indicates a relatively low level of biological stress. Comparison of the skulls from Bystrovka-2 with the skull found at the Kulayka settlement of Bolshoi Log in Omsk showed the possibility of coincidence of some mythical and ritual practices among the Kamenka and Kulayka archaeological cultures. The intentional lesions found on the skulls from these two sites are functionally and anatomically fully identical. The first group of injuries observed at the base of the skull are traces of postmortem decapitation, the second found on the cranial vault is technological holes for fixing the head on a pole. The central element of the ritual in both cases was precisely placing the head on a pole and thus creating an apotrope indicating the border of the “clean” territory.

Kraniovertebral Bileşke Kemiklerinin Morfometrik Özellikleri

Introduction: The craniovertebral junction comprises the occipital bone, atlas, axis and supporting ligaments. Surgical interventions for treatment of instability, require knowledge of morphometric properties of this area. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to evaluate adult dried human skulls to analyze morphometric features of the bones that joined the craniovertebral junction. Materials and Methods: Morphometric analysis was performed on dry bones which found in the excavations. 9 occipital bone, 18 atlas and 16 axis were measured. Differences between measurements were determined using t-tests and were considered significant at p<0.05. Results: The distance between both tips of the transverse processes (p<0.001), the distance between both outermost edges of the transverse foramen (p=0.011), the distance between both innermost edges of the transverse foramen (p=0.013), the maximum transverse diamater of the vertebral canal (p=0.014), the maximum anteroposterior diameter of the vertebral canal (p=0.014) and the width of the inferior articular facet (left p<0.001 and right p=0.005) were found significantly shorter in females atlases. The width of the dens axis (p<0.001), the height of the corpus axis (p=0.034), the distance from lateral most edge of the transvers process to midline (left p=0.049), the length of the inferior articular facet (left p=0.004, right p=0.005), the width of the superior articular facet (right p=0.007) were found significantly shorter in females axises. Conclusion: Morphometric analysis is very important in the development and improvement of surgical techniques. In this context, the results of our study can contribute to developments in this area. Keywords: Atlas, axis, occipital bone, craniovertebral junction

The Logic of Skull Writing

In this essay I discuss the significance of theories and classifications that appear in the material and graphic form of race and place name inscriptions on human skulls. I argue that human skulls themselves provided a site for the inscription of raciological thought, a privileged location for abbreviating broader conceptions of differences and distributions of ‘human races’. I will draw on the history of race science in 19th-century Europe to explore how and why certain race and place names were inscribed onto skulls, and the effect of this form of inscription on the shaping of theories in the racial sciences during this period. The article especially considers the work of the French anthropologists Armand de Quatrefages and Ernest-Théodore Hamy, who systematically wrote inscriptions on the skulls they were studying in the context of Crania Ethnica, arguably the most ambitious project of global racial craniology undertaken in the late 19th century.

Metadata Schema for Managing Digital Data and Images of Thai Human Skulls

This research was aimed at developing metadata that meets international standards for the purpose of managing digital data and images of Thai human skulls for medical studies. The research was conducted by applying the Metadata Lifecycle Model of the Metadata Architecture and Application Team. The model comprises four steps: requirement assessment and content analysis, identification of metadata requirements, metadata schema development, and metadata service and evaluation. The research outcome was a metadata schema composed of four modules, seven data element sets, and 29 pieces of data, each of which had six sets of property descriptions. Metadata evaluation conducted by three specialists in the field of anatomy and forensic medicine and three experts in the field of information science and metadata through free retrieval based on the Continuum of Metadata Quality in four aspects revealed that the experts were satisfied with the quality of metadata at a very high level: 100% for completeness, accuracy, and accessibility, and 94% for conformance to expectations. The developed metadata contain details that can be used to describe the characteristics of human skulls, with consideration taken in the development of the language used, retrieval, access, data exchange, and sharing. Thus, this novel metadata schema can be of use in management of digital data and images of human skulls for the purposes of medical studies, i.e., human anatomy and forensic anthropology.

Temporal Bone Landmarks of the Transversesigmoid Sinus Junction: An Anatomical Study in Dried Human Skulls

Objective: To investigate the accuracy in localization of the anterosuperior margin of TSSJ by using the intersection point between the squamosal and parietomastoid sutures (A point) and the intersection of the squamosal suture and supramastoid crest (B point) as bony landmarks.Materials and Methods: The A and B points were marked on the inner surface of a skull by using the transillumination technique. The anatomical relationship between the projected A point, B point, and groove of TSSJ was investigated in 60 dried Thai human skulls (120 sides).Results: Of the 120 sides, the projected A points were located exactly on the anterosuperior margin of the TSSJ in 38 (31.7%) instances and adjacent (above and below) the anterosuperior margin in 82 (68.3%) cases. Of the 118 sides with identifiable supramastoid crests, the projected B points were located precisely on the anterosuperior margin of TSSJ in 60 (50.8%) cases and above the anterosuperior margin of the TSSJ in 57 (48.3%) cases. Hence, the projected B point was a more reliable bony landmark for localizing the anterosuperior margin of the TSSJ when compared with the projected A point (p = 0.003, OR 2.2, and 95% CI =1.3-3.8).Conclusion: The B point is a more reliable temporal bone landmark for localization of the TSSJ than the A point. In temporal craniotomy, an initial burr hole at the B point is relatively safe and carries a very low risk of inadvertent venous sinus injury.