Study on the Incidence of the Occurrence of the Sutural Bones atAsterion in the Dry Adult Human Skulls of the South Indian Population

ABSTRACT

Background: Asterion is the point of sutural confluence present on the norma lateralis of the skull. Occasionally sutural bones are present at asterion. Asterion is commonly used as a surgical landmark for the lateral approach of the cranial fossa. So, the knowledge on the incidence of the presence of sutural bones at the asterion is important for surgeons. Thus the present study was undertaken to find out the incidence of the occurrence of the sutural bones present at the asterion. Subjects and Methods:70 skulls were collected from the department osteology section.The damaged bones were excluded from the study. A total of 140 asterions were studied. All the skulls were observed and the incidence of type 1 and type 2 asterion was recorded on both sides. The incidence of the multiple sutural bones was also recorded on both the right and left sides. Results: The incidence of type 2 asterion was observed to be higher than the type 1 asterion. The incidence of type 1 and type 2 sutural bones was observed as 27.86% and 72.14% respectively. The incidence of the multiple sutural bones at the asterion was observed as 14.29%. Conclusion: The data on the incidence of occurrence of sutural bones which was presented in the present study may be of great use to the radiologists and neurosurgeons for a better diagnosis and to minimize the complications while performing lateral approaches of the cranial fossa.