Variations of supraorbital foramina in living subjects evaluated with multidetector computed tomography.
BACKGROUND
We aimed to evaluate the anatomic variations of supraorbital foramina/notches in living subjects using multidetector CT (MDCT) related to age, sex, and side.


METHODS
Computer records of 399 patients (207 men and 192 women) referred for high-resolution CT examinations were evaluated for presence, shape, width, and distance from the nasion.


RESULTS
The most common presentation was single notch. Presence of double foramen/notch was higher in the right. Bilateral notches were wider in men. Bilateral foramina and left notches were located more lateral in men. Notches were closer to nasion than foramina. Positive correlations were found between right and left sides for the diameters and distances to nasion. Widths of foramina showed negative correlation with the distances to nasion.


CONCLUSIONS
This is the first study showing supraorbital foramen/notch variations in living crania. MDCT should be established in anatomical studies and may be used in preoperative evaluation.
Turhan-Haktanir
Nurten
N
Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Kocatepe University School of Medicine, Afyonkarahisar, Turkey. nurth70@yahoo.com
Ayçiçek
Abdullah
A
Haktanir
Alpay
A
Demir
Yavuz
Y
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002508:Cephalometry; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005624:Frontal Bone / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009915:Orbit / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D011336:Probability; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012737:Sex Factors; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*