IOSR Journal of Dental and Medical Sciences (IOSR-JDMS) e-ISSN: 2279-0853, p-ISSN: 2279-0861.Volume 17, Issue 3 Ver.7 March. (2018), PP 40-43 www.iosrjournals.org DOI: 10.9790/0853-1703074043 www.iosrjournals.org 40 | Page Morphometric Study of Foramen Ovale in Human Skull in Population of Bihar Binod Kumar 1 , Rajiv Ranjan Sinha 1 , Sanjay Kumar 2 , Md. Jawed Akhtar 3 , Ruchi Ratnesh 2 , Avanish Kumar 4 , Jyoti P Kulkarni 4 , Vinod Kumar 5 1 .Associate Professor, Department of Anatomy, Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences Patna, Bihar 2. Tutor, Department of Anatomy, Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences Patna, Bihar 3. Assistant Professor, Department of Anatomy, Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences Patna, Bihar 4. Additional Professor, Department of Anatomy, Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences Patna, Bihar 5. Professor, Department of Anatomy, Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences Patna, Bihar Corresponding author: Rajiv Ranjan Sinha Abstract Introduction: The foramen ovale is located in the middle cranial fossa in the greater wing of sphenoid through which passes the many structures. It is situated at the transition zone between extracranial and intracranial structures. Therefore the foramen ovale is used in various surgical and diagnostic procedures. Objectives: The objective of this study is to determine the length and width of foramen ovale and also the shape of foramen ovale. Material and methods: The present study was carried out on 80 foramen ovale using 40 adult human skulls collected from department of Anatomy and Forensic Medicine at IGIMS, Patna, Bihar and also from other medical colleges of Bihar. Length and width of foramen ovale was measured. Shape of foramen ovale was determined. Results: The mean length of foramen on right side was 6.86±1.26 mm and on left side was 6.84±1.3 mm. The mean width of foramen ovale on right was 3.53±0.59 mm and on left side was 3.51±0.58 mm. The shape of foramen ovale was oval in 60%, almond shaped in 28.75%, round in 10% and D-shaped in 1.25% of foramen ovale. Conclusion: Morphometric variations of foramen ovale could be explained by developmental region. The foramen ovale has various anatomical, clinical and surgical importance. Keywords: foramen ovale, trigeminal neuralgia, skull, morphometry --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date of Submission: 05-03-2018 Date of acceptance: 19-03-2018 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I. Introduction The foramen ovale is present in the greater wing of sphenoid bone and it is the one of the several cranial foramina in the sphenoid bone. Structures passing through foramen ovale are mandibular nerve, accessory meningeal artery, lesser petrosal nerve and emissary vein [1, 2]. The foramen ovale is located in middle cranial fossa in the infratemporal surface of greater wing of sphenoid posterolateral to foramen rotundum and anteromedial to the foramen spinosum. The otic ganglia is located under the foramen ovale. It is located very close to the upper end of the posterior margin of the lateral pterygoid plate. The foramen ovale is a important foramen which connect the extracranial and intracranial structures. Therefore the foramen ovale is used in various diagnostic and surgical procedures [2,3]. The sphenoid bone developed from both intramembranous and endochondral ossification centres. The sphenoid bone consists of a body (basisphenoid), a pair of lesser wings (orbitosphenoid) and a pair of greater wings (alisphenoid). The first ossification centre appear for alisphenoids and most of it forms the greater wing of sphenoid by membranous ossification in which the mandibular nerve is surrounded by cartilage to form the foramen ovale [4]. The foramen ovale is seen in the 7 th month of intrauterine life as a discrete ring shaped area and predominantly visible at 3 years after birth [5]. The foramen ovale connects the pterygoid plexus to the cavernous sinus through emissary vein [6]. The present study focuses on morphometric study such as length, width and shape of foramen ovale. II. Material And Methods The present study was carried out on 80 foramen ovale using 40 adult human skulls, obtained from Department of Anatomy and Forensic Medicine at IGIMS, Patna and also from other medical colleges of Bihar. Skulls with damaged near the foramen ovale were excluded from this study. The maximum length (anteroposterior diameter) and width (transverse diameter) of foramen ovale were obtained by dividers and then