Illustrated Encyclopedia of Human Anatomic Variation: Opus V: Skeletal Systems: Cranium

Cranium

Ronald A. Bergman, PhD
Adel K. Afifi, MD, MS
Ryosuke Miyauchi, MD
Peer Review Status: Internally Peer Reviewed

Nearly 40% of skulls have sutural bones in the vicinity of the lambdoidsuture. Frequencies as high as 90% have been reported. Berry found sutural bones in 19th century Londoners in the vicinity of the lambda in 28.7% of men and 17.1% of women. The next most common is the epipteric bone (pterion ossicle) found near the former anterolateral fontanelle (approx. 10%, according Kadanoff, 1965). Lange (1924) found lambdoidal bones in 23% of Australian Aborigines and 13.8% of negros.

On average every one of the skulls classified by us possessed three or four different variants. This variation must represent considerable genetical hetrogeneity both within and between populations, although it is impossible to be specific about the extent and meaning of this heterogeneity. Nevertheless, it is important to recognize the prevalence of the genetically determined variation, because the variants we have been studying can be regarded as the pleiotropic manifestations of allelomorphs which also affect physiological competences (Grüneberg, 1955; Berry, 1965). In other words, the trivial morpholgical characters described in this paper may be markers reflecting the different disease and climatic tolerances of different peoples.

Furthmore, every epigenetic variant is an indicator of an embryological process, and the variants possessed by any one individual are a record of certain aspects of his development. We do not know at the moment what processes are primarily affected by the allelomorphs which influence the epigenetic variants, nor at what times during development these processes are acting. Nevertheess, epigenetic variation gives us an opportunity to study embryology without actually dealing with embryos, and to compare allometric patterns in different populations (cf. Trotter & Cleser, 1952, 1958).

Sphenoid Bone

Skull - Sutures

Variations in Foramina

Doubled Infraorbital Foramina

Infraorbital Foramen

Mental Foramen

Absence and Variations of Mental Foramina

Cranium, Figures 1 - 3

Cranium, Figures 4 - 6

Variations in Sutural bones

Midline saggital section of adult head and neck.

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