Dhiraj Maskey; Ajaya Jang Kunwar; Krishna Deo Sharma & Myeung Ju Kim

Metopic suture can be visualized from the nasion to the bregma along the arch of the frontal bone in mid-sagittal plane. Persistent metopic suture normally closing between 1st and 2nd year of life has also been related with ethnicity. The present study reports the presence of complete and incomplete metopic sutures in Nepalese and Korean population skulls which helps to shed light on its incidence rate. Out of 121 adult skulls in Nepalese population, metopic suture was found to be present in 33 skulls. Incomplete metopic sutures showed variations of morphology, like linear (6.61 %), V-shaped (8.26 %) and double incomplete (10.74 %) and two cases with complete metopic suture, which showed variation in interdigitation between its anterior and posterior ends. Korean population showed metopic suture to be present in 8 skulls out of 104 with metopism in 3 skulls. Incomplete metopic sutures like double incomplete (1.92 %) and linear (2.88 %) were also noted. Alterations to local strains could be the contributing factor for such variation and complexity of interdigitation, which occur during the growth of the braincase. The knowledge of the metopic suture and its variations according to ethnicity is important and should be considered to prevent wrong diagnosis. The presence of different types of metopic sutures as reported by the present study provides informative value on the presence and variation of such sutures in population depending on ethnicity and ought to be helpful in diagnostic sequences in emergency setting.

KEY WORDS: Korean; Nepalese; Skull; Metopic suture; Metopism.

MASKEY, D.; KUNWAR, A. J.; SHARMA, K. D. & KIM, M. J. The prevalence of persistent metopic sutures comparing the Nepalese bone collection with Korean bone collection. Int. J. Morphol., 38(5):1376-1380, 2020.