Morphological Variation and Occurrence of Persistent Metopic Suture in Indian Population

Abstract

Introduction:The metopic suture is a dentate-type suture between two frontal bones extending from the nasion to the bregma . The complete metopic sutures extend from nasiontobregma, whereas incomplete metopic suture occupies a small area between these two points. Incidence of metopism can be from 1% to 12%, and it is slightly more prevalent among male. Aim: To describe the different types of metopic suture and the rate of occurrence of each type in Indian population. Materials and methods: 80 (48 male and 28 female) adult human dry skulls were differentiated into different sex and macroscopically examined for metopic suture. Results: Out of the 80 skulls examined, the metopic suture (complete-2 & incomplete-9) was found in 13.75% (11/80) of the skulls, of which 18.75% (9/48) were in males and 6.25% (2/32) in females. Conclusion:The knowledge of morphology of metopic suture can alert the neurosurgeon, imaging persons and forensic persons for the interpretation of skull X-rays and medicolegal autopsies.