The Morphological Grading and Comparison of Sutural Patency Among Cranial Sutures in Dry Human Skulls

A study of 285 cases of cranial vault suture closure in Chinese adults

PURPOSE

To examine the presence and characteristics of cranial vault suture closure in Chinese adults and to explore whether craniosacral therapy (CST) manipulation is rational from the anatomical perspective.

METHODS

Anthropological non-metric observation and craniometry were used to study 285 dry skull specimens of Chinese adults.

RESULTS

A total of 91 specimens with closed extracranial sutures were observed, with an occurrence rate of 31.93%. Based on the mode of closure, there were 32 cases of single type closure, with sagittal suture closure predominating with 20 cases (21.98%); 59 cases of composite closure, with a partial closure of coronal suture + sagittal suture + lambdoid suture predominating with 26 cases (28.57%). In terms of the degree of closure, there were 13 cases (14.28%) of sagittal suture grade 0 closure and 78 cases (85.72%) of grade 1 - 4 closure; 34 cases (37.36%) of coronal suture grade 0 closure and 57 cases (62.64%) of grade 1 - 4 closure; 47 cases (51.65%) of lambdoid suture grade 0 closure and 44 cases (48.35%) of grade 1 - 4 closure. The segment and degree of coronal suture closure (46, 80.7%) and lambdoid suture (31, 70.45%) were mostly left-right symmetrical. The bone surfaces on either side of the cranial vault sutures are embedded in each other, forming a rough, complex and interlocking bone-suture-bone structure.

CONCLUSION

This study observed the closure of the cranial vault suture, summarized its characteristics, and explored the irrationality of the CST manipulation. The anatomical characteristics of the cranial suture dictate that manipulation cannot push the cranial suture at will.

Digital Analysis of Cranial Sutures Computed Tomography Data in Adolescents

ABSTRACT

To investigate the degree of fusion in sutures of the skull, the authors analyzed cranial computed tomography (CT) data using digital technologies to obtain the density values of coronal, sagittal, and lambdoid sutures in Chinese Han adolescents.The authors selected 80 patients who had undergone maxillofacial surgery. They were divided by age into a 9- to 12-year-old group and a 13 to 15-year-old group. The grayscale value of the cranial CT suture was segmented and measured using Mimics 20.0 software. The Mimics software measurement data were imported into SPSS 21.0 for data comparison and analysis.The mean grayscale value of coronal sutures was 1203.25 and the standard deviation was 220.48, while the mean grayscale value of sagittal sutures was 1113.76 and the standard deviation was 197.83. The mean grayscale value of lambdoid sutures was 1106.37, and the standard deviation was 200.01. The grayscale values of coronal sutures were higher than those of sagittal sutures or lambdoid sutures. Further paired sample t tests were performed on the 3 types of cranial sutures. The differences between coronal and sagittal sutures and between coronal and lambdoid sutures were both substantial with statistical significance. Nevertheless, the difference between sagittal and lambdoid sutures was not significant. Further, an independent sample t-test, showed the grayscale values of coronal, sagittal and lambdoid sutures in the 9-12-year)ear-old group were significantly lower than those in the 13 to 15-year-old group (P < 0.001).Through digital technologies, the research findings are more precise and accurate, which is of great significance to research on maxillofacial and associated anatomy.