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The parietal foramen anatomy: studies using dry skulls, cadaver and in vivo MRI

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Abstract

Objective

The aim of this study was to describe the anatomical features encountered in the parietal foramen in a series of 178 human bones and 123 head MRI examinations. A cadaveric specimen was also dissected to demonstrate the trajectory of a superficial scalp vein through the parietal foramen as far as the dura mater. A literature review was performed regarding prevalence of parietal foramen in different populations.

Methods

Totally, 178 paired adult bones were used to investigate the presence, shape and number of the parietal foramina. In addition, 123 brain MRI examinations were also studied.

Results

The parietal foramina were encountered in 75/89 (84.3%) skulls [32/38 (84.2%) in women vs. 43/51 (84.3%) in men, p > 0.05]. The parietal foramen was present bilaterally in 44.73% of females and 54.9% of males. Regarding unilaterality of the parietal foramen, a right or left laterality was observed in female 21% right versus 18% left; and 16% versus 14% (left) in males (p > 0.05). The accessory parietal foramen was present in the right parietal in 2.6% and in 7.9% on the left side of the females, while 5.9% and 3.9% of the males on the right or left sides, respectively. The parietal foramina located in the proximity of the sagittal suture (male 7.1 ± 2.5 mm vs. female, 7.4 ± 2.7 mm). There was a positive correlation between the right and left parietal foramina regarding the distance from the median line. The distance from a foramen to the contralateral one was 16 ± 4 mm in men and 18 ± 5 mm in women, respectively (p > 0.05).

Conclusion

No major differences were encountered between sexes regarding the anatomical features of parietal foramen.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the Human Anatomy Laboratory of the Federal University of Pernambuco, which provided materials that were essential to carry out the study.

Funding

The authors declare that no financial support was received for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento of Anatomy, Academic Center of Vitória of Santo Antão, Vitória, Pernambuco, Brazil

    Maria Rosana de Souza Ferreira, André Pukey Oliveira Galvão & Carolina Peixoto Magalhães

  2. Vitória de Santo Antão, Facol University Center, Vitória, Pernambuco, Brazil

    André Pukey Oliveira Galvão

  3. Neurosurgery Unit, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil

    Maria Rosana de Souza Ferreira, Pedro Thadeu Mertens Brainer de Queiroz Lima & Marcelo Moraes Valença

  4. Procape, University of Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil

    Alessandra Mertens Brainer de Queiroz Lima

  5. Departamento of Anatomy and Neurosurgery Unit, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil

    Maria Rosana de Souza Ferreira

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  1. Maria Rosana de Souza Ferreira
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Contributions

MRSF, CPM and MMV conceived and designed the analysis; MRSF, AMBQL, CPM and MMV collected the data; APOG, PTMBQL and AMBQL contributed data or analysis tools; MRSF, PTMBQL and MMV performed the analysis; MRSF and MMV wrote the paper.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Maria Rosana de Souza Ferreira.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All stages of this study were carried out in accordance with the guidelines of the National Research Ethics Commission and were approved by the Research Ethics Committee involving human beings at the Federal University of Pernambuco through the protocol CAAE: 79464917.6.0000.5208.

Informed consent

The study data were previously approved by the ethics and research committee of the Federal University of Pernambuco.

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de Souza Ferreira, M.R., Galvão, A.P.O., de Queiroz Lima, P.T.M.B. et al. The parietal foramen anatomy: studies using dry skulls, cadaver and in vivo MRI. Surg Radiol Anat 43, 1159–1168 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-020-02650-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-020-02650-0

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