Metopism and Its Clinical Relevance: A Persistent Suture.

Sharma, Suyashi; Krishna, Hare; Dixit, Shilpi G.; Ghatak, Surajit

Background: Metopic suture is a dense fibrous joint extending from nasion to bregma. Normally, closure of this suture takes place between 1-8 years of age. Failure of this closure beyond 8 years leads to persistent metopic suture. Persistent metopic suture may mimic skull fracture. Aim and Objective: To differentiate metopism from frontal bone fracture. Material and Method: 54 dry skull of adult humans in were studied. These skulls were observed for the presence (complete or incomplete suture) or absence of metopic suture. Result: Metopic suture was found in 3.7% skulls. Both complete and incomplete metopic suture were found in 1.85% of the dry skulls. Conclusion: Neurosurgeons, radiologists, otorhinolaryngologists, physicians, anatomists, forensic specialists, anthropologists and evolutionary biologists should have knowledge of this anatomical variation. This case series focusses on the importance of metopism. Metopism is a topic, which has not been much studied.

CRANIAL sutures; FRONTAL bone; SKULL fractures; BONE fractures; ANATOMICAL variation

Annals of African Medicine, 2025, Vol 24, Issue 1, p19

1596-3519

Academic Journal

10.4103/aam.aam_85_23