Abstract

The foramen magnum (FM) is an essential feature of the base of skull and is of great
significance to several departments of medicine (1) Variations of the shape of FM have got
diagnostic, clinical and radiological implications. Also there exists some association between
the shape of FM and ancestry of an individual.
Clinical importance:
Because critical structures that pass through FM may be compressed, as in FM
achondroplasia and FM brain herniation, the dimensions of FM have clinical significance (2).
The transcondylar method is commonly used in neurosurgery to treat lesions that are ventral
to the brainstem and corticomedullary junction. According to some accounts, understanding
the bone architecture of the condylar area is crucial to this method. As a result, comparing
FM dimensions to hindbrain tissue can reveal information about the development and
progress of Chiari I symptomatology. Despite the fact that it is of great clinical importance,
there are only a few anatomical accounts in the literature. The goal of this study was to
document and investigate the morphologies of the foramen magnum (FM) in dry cadaver
skulls, as well as to compute the average FM measurements.
In forensic anthropology, a person's gender is determined through their skeleton. Even though
a complete skeleton is essential for accurate results, finding one that is both complete and in
good condition is extremely unusual. If the right methods are utilised, gender can be
determined from skeletal remains. In determining a person's gender, the pelvis, femur, tibia,
humerus, radius, mandible, and cranium are all useful. (3) However, the skull is second only
to the pelvis in terms of gender identification in archaeological contexts, where it has the
ability to identify an individual's sex with great precision, due to its superior preservation. (4)
The skull's dimorphic features are more stable than those of other skeletal relics due to the
skull's resistance to environmental alteration.