A genderwise study on the morphometry of infraorbital foramen and its laterally in dry adult skulls of South Indian population

Abstract

Background: The infraorbital foramen is situated in the maxilla and it conveys infraorbital nerve and vessel, the knowledge of its morphometry and variations is therefore mandatory to do therapeutic infraorbital nerve block or any clinical procedures. Aims & Objective: To study the gender wise morphometry of infraorbital foramen and its laterality in dry adult skulls of south Indian population. Materials and Methods: In the present study we examined 100 infraorbital foramina and measured its distance with bony features adjacent to it and the shape, presence of accessory foramina were analysed in relation to gender. The infraorbital foramen was the landmark from which the distance between the following bony structures were examined; Nasion (NAS), Zygomatico-maxillary suture (ZMS), Anterior nasal spine (ANS), and the distance between the inferior orbital rim(IOR) to optic canal (OC), infraorbital foramen IOF), inferior and superior orbital fissure (IF & SF). The average mean and standard deviation were calculated for every measurement. Paired t-test was used to compare the parameters between sides and gender for each measurement. Results: The most common shape of infraorbital foramen found in the present study is oval (39%) followed by semilunar (27%). Round shaped foramen was found in 22% of skulls, triangle shaped foramen was found in 12% and accessory foramina were present in 11% of the skulls. In the present study, we found triangle shaped foramen in 12% skulls and also the number of accessory foramina was found to be higher which emphasise the need to take ethnicity into account as triangle shaped foramen is unique in south Indian population as affirmed by previous authors. Conclusion: The results show significance with respect to gender and side which makes the knowledge of its morphometry obligatory for clinical procedures.

Morphometric study on the infraorbital foramen in relation to sex and side of the cranium in northeastern Brazil

“…The values found for the distance from the IOF to the ANS in our study varied significantly between the sexes and between the sides of the maxilla. These findings were very similar to those described by Ekambaram et al [ 14 ] and Lopes et al [ 10 ]. However, the mean values found for this variable in the study of Ukoha et al [ 17 ] were smaller, which may be associated with anatomical differences between different ethnic groups.…”

“…The frequency of multiplicity of the IOF has been found to range from 4% to 11% [ 3 9 14 ]. In our study, multiplicity of the IOF was found in 10.7% of the crania studied, without any significant difference in relation to sex or the sides of the maxilla.…”

“…Regarding the distance from the IOF to the IOB too, we did not find any significant difference in relation to sex or the sides of the maxilla. Ekambaram et al [ 14 ] reported that this distance was significantly greater on the right side, only in male crania. On the other hand, according to Macedo et al [ 11 ], the distance from the IOF to the IOB was greater on the left side.…”

Morphological and Morphometric Relations of Infraorbital Foramen in North Indian Population

“…It was also comparable to a Brazilian study by Chracanovic et al [11] and a study by Elsheikh et al [12] in the Egyptian population. Some south Indian studies showed values (> 7 mm) that were higher than ours [13,14]. Studies on African American skulls by Zang et al [15] and Nigerian skulls by Ukoha et al [16] also reported higher values.…”

“…One study was by Singh et al [9] in the North Indian population, and another by Przygocka et al [20] in the Polish population. On the contrary, a south Indian study by Ekambaram et al [13] reported values lower than 40 mm.…”