Morphology and topography of the parietal emissary foramina in South Indians: an anatomical study

Abstract

The objectives of the present study were to study the prevalence of the parietal emissary vein in adult South Indian population and to study the distance of foramen from the sagittal suture. There were 58 adult human skulls in the present study which were available at the anatomy department of our institution. The study included 116 parietal bones which have been observed macroscopically for the number, prevalence and topography of the emissary foramen. The emissary foramen was present in 83 parietal bones (71.5%) of the present study. It was present at the junction between the middle 1/3 and posterior 1/3 region of the parietal bone. The foramen was observed solitary in 73 parietal bones (62.9%), double in 8 bones (6.9%), and triple in 2 parietal bones (1.7%). The foramen was not observed in 33 parietal bones (28.4%). The bilateral absence of parietal emissary foramen was seen in 7 skulls (12.1%). It was absent unilaterally in 19 skulls (32.7%). The accessory foramina were seen in only 8 skulls (13.8%). The mean distance of the foramen from the sagittal suture was 6.7±2.9 mm and 6.8±2.8 mm on the right and left sides respectively. The prevalence of parietal emissary vein in the present study was 71.5%. The present study has observed important data about the morphology and morphometry of the parietal emissary vein in South Indian population. The identification of parietal emissary veins and accessory veins is important in the operation room to prevent the blood loss.

Morphometry of Parietal Foramen in Skulls of Telangana Population

“…The prevalence of foramen as per our studies is in close comparison to the data of Boyd [4] studies and those of Muralimanju et al, [8]. The unilateral parietal foramen is seen more common on the right side than the left (20.7%:15.2%) as per studies done by Boyd.…”

Anatomical observation and significance of the parietal foramen in Chinese adults

“…The PF is usually located on both sides of the middle 1/3 and posterior 1/3 of the sagittal suture [1]. The frequency, number, diameter, shape, location of the PF, intracranial and extracranial communication and direction are not constant.…”

“…The parietal foramen (PF) is a small inconsistent diameter located at the border of the middle 1/3 and posterior 1/3 of the parietal bone near the sagittal suture. It is usually considered an emissary foramen [1]. The edge of the PF is clear, with meningeal branches of the occipital artery, venules and nerves passing through [2].…”

“…The existing literature has shown that the incidence, number, diameter, shape, relative location of the PF, and intracranial and extracranial communication and direction are not constant [1,5]. There are few studies investigating this topic on the Asian race to date, especially Chinese.…”

Foramen of Vesalius - constant or variable foramen

“…In their research, Shinohara et al [12] and Shaik et al [13] state that the foramen representation is 33.75% and 36%, respectively, which is less than the results of our study. According to most authors, the incidence of the FV is lower (Table 4) [3,[12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]. There is a significant discrepancy in the incidence of the FV between various authors.…”