Persistent metopic suture with multiple sutural bones at unusual sites

Ambade HV, Fulpatil MP, Kasote

Abstract

Sutural bones are small irregular bones found in the sutures and fontanels of the human skull. They are commonly found at lambda and lambdoid suture followed by pterion; and rarely at other sites. They vary from person to person in number and shape, hence not named. Usually, 1-3 sutural bones in one skull are present, but 8-10 sutural bones are also reported in the literature, all restricted in the vicinity of lambdoid sutures. In the present case, 8 sutural bones were present in a human skull at asterion, left pterion and right coronal suture apart from the lambdoid suture. Moreover, there was a persistent metopic suture between bregma to nasion in the same skull. The metopic suture with multiple sutural bones spreading beyond lambdoid suture at unusual sites is not reported previously. The knowledge of such variation and combination is rare and very important for forensic expert, radiologists, orthopedists, neurosurgeons and anthropologist point of view. It is very important to know about such variation because they can mislead the diagnosis of fracture of skull bones.