Measurement of Foramen Magnum in Adult Sudanese using Computed Tomography

Abstract

The foramen magnum (FM) is an important anatomical region of the skull base and is of significance for anatomy, anthropology and other medical fields. This study aims to measure the foramen magnum and characterize the shape of it through the use of reconstructed helical CT images. For verify the morphological characteristics of the (FM) for gender determination in Sudanese individuals by measuring the saggital, transverse diameter and characterizing its shape. A total of 100 Sudanese patients (52 males and 48 females) with mean ages were 49.69±15.53 were examined using reformatted axial CT and three dimensional CT referred to the Radiology Department in the Dar Al Elaj Specialized Hospital, Khartoum, Sudan The foramen magnum shapes were determined as a round shape in 17(17%) of the cases, oval in 53 (53%), irregular in 15(15%) and arrow head in 15(15%), the mean sagittal and transverse diameters of the foramen magnum were determined as 35.37±2.49 mm and28.57±2.48 mm respectively. knowledge of FM area‘s anatomy is of extreme importance for treating lesion and help the surgeon regarding selection best surgical approach and expected changes in the anatomy of these critical structures and resection of tumors.