Analysis of the Morphometry and Morphology of the Foramen Ovale within the Black and White South African Population

The foramen ovale are bilateral oval-shaped openings located in the greater wing of the sphenoid bone in the human skull.Due to the variable morphometry and morphological traits of this foramen, this study aims to document the morphometry and morphology of the foramen ovale in a KwaZulu-Natal population group.The length (anterior-posterior diameter) and width (transverse diameter) of the foramen ovale was measured on 28 dry skull specimens (n=56).The morphometry, morphology and any variations of this foramen were recorded.In the present study the mean length observed was 7.95 1.11 on the left side and 8.03 1.24 on the right side.The males had wider and longer foramen ovale than the females.Furthermore, the mean length in the White population was larger than that in the Black-African population.Whilst the mean width in the Black-African population was larger than that in the White population.However, there was no statistical significant differences between right and left sides in both sexes and in both groups.The incidence of oval, round, almond, irregular and d-shaped foramen ovale observed in the present study were as follows: 41.10 %, 7.15 %, 10.70 %, 23.25 % and 7.10 % respectively.Additionally, 3.55 % variant shaped foramen ovale were found and 7.15% kidney shaped foramen ovale were documented.The foramen ovale is an essential foramen that transmits the accessory meningeal artery, mandibular nerve and lesser petrosal nerve.Knowledge of the foramen ovale is necessary to understand intracranial pathologies since this foramen is utilized in numerous diagnostic and invasive surgical procedures.Therefore, surgeons must be knowledgeable about its morphology and morphometry.Knowledge of this foramen is anatomically and clinically important as it may assist in trigeminal neuralgia and surgeries for neurological diseases.The morphometry and morphology of the foramen ovale in the Black and White South African population from KwaZulu-Natal presented with differences when compared to other population groups studied in literature.