STUDY OF MORPHOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF FORAMEN MAGNUM IN DRY HUMAN SKULL AT SMS MEDICAL COLLEGE, JAIPUR, RAJASTHAN

Background: The present study was conducted for analysis of the morphometry shape and determination of sex by foramen Magnum. Methods: After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria 30 dried human skull of unknown age and sex were slected for present study from the Department of anatomy, S.M.S. Medical College, Jaipur, Rajasthan. In case of skull bones, all 30 cranial bases were visually assessed for FM shape classification. Each FM shape was classified into one of the 8 types: oval, egg, round, tetragonal, pentagonal, hexagonal, combination of 2 different semicircles and irregular. Results: The mean anteroposterior diameter of foramen magnum male and female skull bones were found to be 37.17±1.76 mm and 33.92±3.50 mm respectively.The mean transverse diameter of foramen mgnum in male and female skull bones were found to be 29.49±2.68 mm and 29.38±2.47 mm respectively.The mean area of foramen magnum male and female skull bones were found to be 818.05±119.66 mm² and 847.57±105.85 mm² respectively.The mean index of foramen magnum in male and female skull bones were found to be 84.00±5.41 and 80.27±5.79 respectively.Overall skull bones showed a medium type of foramen magnum index . Conclusion: We concluded that the several anatomic parameters such as shape and dimensions of foramen magnum should be taken into consideration during surgery involving the craniovertebral junction. Also these can be used during forensic and anthropological investigation of unknown individuals for determining gender, ethnicity, etc Keywords: Skull, foramen magnum, skull.