A Study of Morphologic and Morphometric Features of Vermian Fossa and Internal Occipital Crest in Adult Indian Human Skulls in Tertiary Care Centres.

Introduction- A noticeable internal occipital crest is visible on the inside surface of the squamous portion of the occipital bone. It descends and bifurcates around the foramen magnum, enclosing a tiny depression known as the vermian fossa. The single or double occipital sinus is located in the falx cerebelli, which is connected to the crest. The fossa houses the inferior vermis of the cerebellum. A bony ridge that divides the vermian fossa into upper and lower parts might give the structure a somewhat triangular shape. There are not many research that describe the morphometric and morphologic characteristics of vermian fossa. Hence, the present study was done to evaluat the morphological and morphometric parameters of vermian fossa and internal occipital crest in the Indian adult human dry skull. Material and method- This study was a cross-sectional study conducted in department of Anatomy of Government Medical College, Handwara and Government Medical College Srinagar for a period of 9 months i.e. 1st September 2023 to 1st June 2014. A total of 140 bones were analysed. Any injured or pathologically altered skulls and occipital bones were excluded from the study. The vermian fossa were examined for their presence and morphology. Internal occipital crest were also seen for its shape and length. The data were recorded and tabulated in SPSS software version 20 and analysed. Result- In the present study the incidence of vermian fossa was found to be 80% of total skull. Vermian fossa was mainly triangular in shape (71.42% cases), followed by quadrangular (8.03% samples) and atypical (20.53% bones). The mean height and width of vermian fossa was measured to be 9.4±4.12 mm and 8.4±3.82 mm respectively. A sharp internal crest was more observed followed by rounded, widened. Ill-defined internal occipital crest was least observed in the present study. The internal occipital crest was 2.82±0.74 cm in length, measured from the internal occipital protuberance to its bifurcation. From the internal occipital protuberance to the posterior margin of the foramen magnum, the internal occipital crest was 4.25±0.46 cm in length on average. Conclusion- It is important for clinicians and radiologists to accurately understand the morphology, morphometry, and changes of the internal occipital crest and vermian fossa when performing diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. It is necessary to investigate variations in typical anatomical features. For this reason, morphologists and anatomists find this important. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]