Morphometric Study of the Supraorbital Notches And Foramina In Adult Human Skulls In South-South Nigeria

Background: The supraorbital foramen is a bony elongated path located above the orbit (eye socket) and under the forehead. The supraorbital foramen/notch transmits the supraorbital artery, veins and nerve. This study is aimed at determining the anatomical variation in size in respect to gender and content of the supraorbital foramen. Methods: A morphometric study of the supraorbital foramen/notch was carried out on 120 human skulls (72 male, 48 female) from the Departments of Anatomy of the University of Benin, University of Calabar, Niger Delta University and University of Port Harcourt all in southsouth Nigeria. A pair of dividers and a meter rule were used to measure the lengths and widths of the supraorbital notch/foramen and then placed on a meter rule for readings to be taken. Statistical analysis was carried out using SPSS analyzer software. Results: The result revealed that the mean length of the supraorbital foramen in males is 1.61±0.60mm for right and1.15±0.50mm for the left while in females it is 1.91±0.60mm for the right and 2.00±0.09mm for the left. The mean width of the supraorbital foramen in males is 3.12±1.23mm for the right and 3.18±1.21mm for the left while for the females it is 3.17±1.05mm for the right and 3.17±0.12mm for the left. The mean length of the supraorbital notch in males is 2.24± 0.60mm for the right and 2.34±0.65mm for the left while for the females it is 3.06±1.36mm for the right and 2.53± 0.65mm for the left. The mean width of the supraorbital notch in males is 5.21±1.65mm for the right and 5.40±1.89mm for the left while for the females it is 4.97±0.18mm for the right and 5.00±0.20mm for the left . Conclusion: There is no significant difference between the length and width of the supraorbital foramina/notches in both males and females (P>0.05). Key Words: Supraorbital notch, supraorbital foramina, Skulls, Southern Nigeria.