Cranial Morphometric Patterns and Frontal Sinus Variations in Adults with Persistent Metopic Suture: Computed Tomography Based Analysis

Authors : Erdem Özkan, Aybüke Uçgun, Ersin Yavuz, Şehnaz Evrimler

Pages : 42-53

Doi:10.20515/otd.1768335

View : 38 | Download : 117

Publication Date : 2025-12-15

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :Persistent metopic suture (PMS) represents an anatomical variation where the metopic suture fails to fuse during normal development. This study aimed to investigate cranial morphometric patterns and frontal sinus (FS) morphology in the adult Turkish population with PMS using computed tomography (CT).We analyzed 165 adult patients (83 women, 82 men; mean age 56.67±19.78 years) with PMS who underwent cranial CT between January 2023-2024. Cranial morphometric measurements including occipitofrontal distance (OFD), biparietal diameter (BPD), and interorbital distance (IOD) were obtained, cephalic index (CI) was calculated, and FS morphology was evaluated. Brachycephalic morphology was most prevalent (40.0%), followed by hyperbrachycephalic (38.8%), mesocephalic (18.8%), and dolichocephalic (2.4%) forms. Males demonstrated significantly larger OFD, BPD and IOD compared to females (p<0.001), while CI showed no sex-related differences (p=0.719). Bilateral FS asymmetry was identified in 40.0% of patients. Right frontal sinus hyperplasia was significantly associated with larger IOD (p=0.009). Our findings reveal that PMS is associated with distinctive cranial morphological patterns characterized by predominantly brachycephalic forms and elevated frontal sinus asymmetry. Although the findings of this study are quite valuable, our study is limited to a Turkish adult cohort and cannot be generalized to other ethnic or demographic populations.
Keywords : Persistan metopik sütür, bilgisayarlı tomografi, sefalik indeks, frontal sinüs

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