ABSTRACT
Variations of the metopic sutures have been mentioned by various workers in the past with some agreement over dates of closure, racial variations, their persistence, whether partial or complete. This study was carried out to find out incidence, pattern and shapes of metopic sutures in Pakistani people as no such data is available in our country. Two hundred and twenty six well preserved adult skulls from Punjab Province were examined for presence and patterns of metopic sutures. Complete metopic suture was found in 1.32% cases while incomplete metopic suture was observed in 76.7% cases. It was found absent in 23% cases. The incidence of extent of metopic suture in our study was found significanlty heigher than that reported by other workers. Incomplete sutues showed variations in shape. Inverted and radiating types were not observed in this study. We found an inverted 1G shaped suture in 90% of the skulls. This type has not been mentioned before by any worker