Department of Anthropology and Anatomy, Institute of Experimental Morphology, Pathology and Anthropology with Museum, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria.
Department of Anthropology and Anatomy, Institute of Experimental Morphology, Pathology and Anthropology with Museum, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria.
Ann Anat. 2022 Aug;243:151951. doi: 10.1016/j.aanat.2022.151951. Epub 2022 May 4.
Cranial sutures are active bone growth sites and any alteration in their normal formation, patency and closure influences the overall cranial morphology. This comparative study aims to establish whether the cranial shape and size are significantly modified when metopic suture persists into adulthood using geometric morphometric analyses.
The sample consisted of 63 metopic and 184 non-metopic dry adult male crania. Three-dimensional polygonal models of the crania were generated using a hand-held laser scanner Creaform VIUscan. A total of 50 landmarks were digitized on the three-dimensional models and eight landmark configurations delineating the cranium and its compartments were constructed and analyzed. Geometric morphometric analyses were applied to investigate separately the size and shape differences between the metopic and non-metopic series in each of the landmark configurations.
Significant size differences were established solely in the neurocranium, but not in its total size, rather in its parts. The size modification was expressed by an enlargement of the anterior part of the neurocranium at the expense of the middle and posterior ones. All investigated landmark sets differed significantly between the series regarding the shape. In metopic series, the shape alteration was mainly in a mediolateral widening and an anteroposterior shortening contributing to a more rounded overall shape of the cranium.
The slight modification of the cranial morphology in metopism suggests that the metopic suture persistence is not an isolated variation limited to the frontal bone. It is rather a complex condition associated with a combination of specific phenotypic characteristics.
颅缝是骨骼活跃的生长部位，其正常形成、开放和闭合的任何变化都会影响颅骨的整体形态。本研究旨在通过几何形态测量学分析，确定额缝持续存在于成年人时，颅骨的形状和大小是否会发生显著改变。
样本包括 63 例额缝骨和 184 例非额缝骨的干燥成人男性颅骨。使用手持式激光扫描仪 Creaform VIUscan 生成颅骨的三维多边形模型。在三维模型上共标记了 50 个标志点，并构建和分析了 8 个标志点配置，用于描绘颅骨及其各部分。应用几何形态测量学分析，分别研究了在每个标志点配置中，额缝组和非额缝组之间的大小和形状差异。
仅在神经颅中发现了显著的大小差异，但不是整个神经颅的大小，而是其各部分的大小。这种大小的改变表现为神经颅前部的扩大，而中后部相对缩小。所有研究的标志点集在形状上都存在显著差异。在额缝组中，形状的改变主要表现为颅的中侧宽度增加和前后长度缩短，导致颅的整体形状更圆。
额缝持续存在时，颅骨形态的轻微改变表明，这种额缝变化不是仅限于额骨的孤立变异，而是一种与特定表型特征相结合的复杂情况。
