Morphologic and morphometric evaluation of the wormian bones in dry indian skulls – a single centered study

Background: Wormian bones, also known as ossa suturalia, are small, auxiliary, atypical bones found on the sutures of the skull. They originate from atypical ossification centers that are added to the regular structure of the skull bones in the cranium. These bones were also referred to as supernumerary, intercalary, intersutural, and ossicles.  Aims and Objectives: To ascertain the morphologic and morphometric properties of wormian (sutural) bones and to look into their occurrence. Methods: 56 dry human skulls of unknown sex and age were used for this investigation in the anatomy department , Government Medical College Srinagar. The study did not include the malformed heads. The location, quantity, side, and shape of wormian bones were identified once the skulls were examined to check for their presence. Furthermore, the digital caliper was used to measure the width-length of the skulls and the vertical-horizontal diameters of the wormian bones to the nearest 0.1 mm. Wormian bone occurrences in various types of skulls were studied, and the cranial index was computed.
Results: The prevalence of wormian bones was 42.86 %  overall, with the majority (57.14 %) found on the lambdoid suture. At the lambdoid suture, wormian bones were observed at a rate of 62.5%; at the occipito-mastoid suture, 9.37%; on the pterion, bregma, parietotemporal, sagittal, and coronal sutures, they were not observed. worm-like bones were seen at a rate of 65.62% on the left side of the skull and 34.38% on the right.  Our research indicates that the morphologies of wormian bones were perceived as irregular (28.12%), triangular (15.62%), and quadrangular (56.26%). The average measurements of wormian bones were 10.93±4.39 mm for horizontal diameter and 12.29±4.48 mm for vertical diameter. Our study’s findings for the cephalic index indicate that the majority of our Skulls of the dolichocephalic category can have wormian bones or not.Conclusion: Understanding the variances and features of the skull is crucial for the domains of forensic medicine, anatomy, radiography, and neurosurgery as well as for clinical procedures or literature data.