Purpose: The aim of the study was to examine the different anatomical variations of the supraorbital, infraorbital, and mental foramina related to gender and side.
Materials and methods: Measurements were made on 110 adult skulls without mandibles and isolated mandibles. Gender was determined for each skull. Parameters measured bilaterally included the distances from the supraorbital and mental foramina to midline, from the infraorbital foramen to the anterior nasal spine, from the infraorbital foramen to the inferior orbital rim, and from the mental foramen to the inferior rim of the mandible and the angle between the line linking the infraorbital foramen with the anterior nasal spine and horizontal plane. Comparisons were made between genders and sides and statistical analysis was done where appropriate using Student's t test.
Results: There were 70 male and 40 female crania. Nature of the 3 foramina was similar between sides and genders. The average distance from the left supraorbital foramen to midline in females was significantly lower than that in males (2.42+/-0.04 versus 2.56+/-0.05). The mean distances from the bilateral infraorbital foramina to anterior nasal spine in females were also significantly lower relative to those in males (3.28+/-0.03 versus 3.48+/-0.03 right and 3.31+/-0.03 versus 3.50+/-0.03 left). There were also considerable differences between sides in the average angle of the infraorbital foramen in both genders.
Conclusions: Differences in several measurements suggest that gender and side should be considered when applying the anatomical variation data to an individual subject.