Morphometric and Morphological Study of Foramen Magnum in Dry Adult Skulls in a Southern Nigerian Population

The foramen magnum contains the lower end of the medulla oblongata, the vertebral arteries and the spinal accessory nerve. The purpose of this study was to measure the size, determine the index and area as well as analyse the shapes of the foramen magnum in dry adult human skulls of Nigerians. The study sample comprised 74adult dry skulls of no define dage and gender. Anteroposterior and transverse dimensions were measured; and foramen magnum index and area were calculated. The shape of the foramen was also assessed. The commonest shape was oval (48.6%) followed by round (45.9%). The anteroposterior dimension was significantly longer than the transverse dimension. This will be of forensic, anthropological and clinical importance.

Key Words: Foramen magnum, Morphology, Morphometry, Index, Area