Atlantooccipital Fusion: Prevalence and its Developmental and Clinical Correlation

Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research

卷:11

D. K. Sharma¹  Vandana Sharma²  Deepak Sharma³ 

[1] Additional Professor, Department of Anatomy, AIIMS, Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India.;

[2] Associate Professor, Department of Anatomy, Gandhi Medical Colledge, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India.;

[3] Demonstrator, Department of Anatomy, Gandhi Medical Colledge, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India.;

关键词: compression;    foramen magnum;    inclination;    variation;   

DOI  :  10.7860/JCDR/2017/26183.9999

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Introduction: Atlantooccipital fusion or occipitalization of atlasor assimilation of atlas is a rare or uncommon abnormalityrecorded in anatomical, morphological and radiologicalstudies. It is usually associated with reduction in dimensionsof foramen magnum leading to acute or chronic neurovascularcompression and clinical manifestations of varying severity.Though, atlantooccipital fusion is rare but it is important andsignificant for the physicians and surgeons for their diagnosticand therapeutic approach.Aim: To know the prevalence of atlantooccipital fusion inSouth Asian population predominantly in Central India and itsembryological and clinical correlation by reviewing literatureand earlier studies.Materials and Methods: This study included careful examinationfor the atlantooccipital fusion on total 192 human skulls of bothgenders, available in the Department of Anatomy AIIMS Raipur,Chhattisgarh, India, Department of Anatomy and ForensicMedicine of Gandhi Medical Colledge, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh,India and Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru Memorial Medical College,Raipur. Morphometric measurements of the abnormal skullswere done, analysed and recorded. Observations and findingsof this study were correlated embryologically and clinically withthe results and claims of previous studies and literature, andaccordingly the conclusions were drawn.Results: We found only two skulls with atlantooccipital fusion,in overall study of 192 skulls. The first skull showed incompleteatlantooccipital fusion on the left side with little right lateralinclination and missing posterior tubercle/spinous process andadjoining part of posterior arch of atlas, whereas the secondskull showed complete atlantooccipital fusion.Conclusion: We conclude that the prevalence of atlantooccipitalfusion including complete and incomplete fusion was 1.04%,which is higher than the proclaimed prevalence rate of 0.12%to 0.72%, by the previous studies. In accordance with thefact that the atlantooccipital fusion represents a synostosisbetween the atlas and the occipital bone due to developmentalabnormal segmentation of cranial part of paraxial mesodermand abnormal fusion between segments of caudal occipital andcranial cervical sclerotomes, we would like to thereby assertthat the fusion associated with the reduction in dimensionsof foramen magnum (reduction also seen in our study) isdefinitely significant for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes toclinicians.

【 授权许可】

Unknown