A comparison of anatomical measurements of the infraorbital foramen of skulls of the modern and late byzantine periods and the golden ratio [Comparación de las medidas anatómicas del foramen infraorbitario en cráneos de la época bizantina tardía, edad moderna y la proporción áurea]

The aim of this study was to examine the morphometric characteristics of the infraorbital foramen of skulls of people living in modern society and in the late Byzantine period, to ascertain the symmetry or asymmetry of the two halves of the skulls by measuring the linear distance between various landmarks, to evaluate at the conformity between the infraorbital foramen and the golden ratio by calculating the ratios between these linear distances, and to set out the differences or similarities between the skulls of these different periods. It was found in the study that the morphometric characteristics of the infraorbital foramen in skulls of the modern period were 47.05 % circular, 41.17 % oval and 11.76 % atypical (semilunar and triangular) on the right, and 70.58 % circular and 29.41 % oval on the left, while those of the Byzantine period were 46.06 % circular and 53.3% oval on the right, and 50% circular and 50 % oval on the left. It was found that the measurements across the infraorbital foramen of the Byzantine skulls averaged 2.93±1.05 mm and 3.15±1.03 mm on the right side and 2.62±0.97 mm and 3.16±0.68 mm on the left vertically and horizontally respectively, and those of the modern period measured 2.32±0.50 mm and 3.00±0.92 mm on the right and 2.48±0.45 mm and 2.76±0.65 mm on the left vertically and horizontally respectively. The ratio between the distances from the outer orbital wall of the IOF to the sagittal plane and the piriform aperture were 1.46±0.25 mm and 1.40±0.21 mm for left and right respectively for the Byzantine skulls, and 1.24±0.24 mm and 1.29±0.42 mm for the modern skulls. A significant difference was found between the ratio obtained and the golden ratio for each of the periods (modern and Byzantine) (p<0.005). A comparison of anatomical characteristics of the infraorbital foramen of people living at different historical periods is important for anthropologists and knowing morphological types and amassing knowledge on the proportional calculation of location is important for dentistry, maxillofacial surgery and algology. © 2016, Universidad de la Frontera. All rights reserved

A comparison of the relationship between the golden ratio and anatomical characteristics of the supraorbital foramen in bare skulls belonging to the byzantine era and modern era [Comparación de la relación entre la proporción áurea y las características anatómicas del foramen supraorbitario en cráneos de la época bizantina y la edad moderna]

The aim of the present study is to determine the frequency of the occurrence of supraorbital foramen/notch (SOF/ N) in the skulls of the people who lived in the modern era and the late Byzantine era, to determine the symmetry and the asymmetry between the two halves of the skulls by measuring the linear distance to various landmarks, to check the consistency between the location of the SOF/N and the golden ratio by calculating the ratio between linear distances and to evaluate the differences between the skulls from both historical periods. In the study, the frequency of the occurrence of the supraorbital notch in the skulls from the Byzantine era was found to be 26.60 % on the right and 13.30 % on the left while it was 14.30 % on the right and 9.52 % on the left in the skulls belonging to modern humans. In the skulls belonging to the Byzantine era, the average distance between SOF/N and the sagittal axis passing along the lateral orbital wall was found to be 34.81±2.51 mm and 32.99±2.81 mm respectively on the right and the left while it was 33.14±2.19 mm and 33.39±2.06 mm in the skulls belonging to modern era. The average distance between the SOF/N and the sagittal plane passing along the midline of the skull was found to be 24.55±2.79 mm and 21.57±2.44 mm on the right and the left respectively in the skulls belonging to the Byzantine era while it was 0.04±3.30 mm and 20.96±2.37 mm in the skulls belonging to the modern era. The average distance between the SOF/N and sagittal plane passing along the medial orbital wall was found to be 23.78±3.60 mm and 23.81±3.20 mm on the right and the left respectively in the skulls belonging to the Byzantine era while it was found to be 22.23±3.29 mm and 23.97±1.93 mm in the skulls belonging to the modern era. The average value of the distance between the sagittal planes passing along the lateral and medial sides of the orbit and the ratios between the distance from SOF/N to the sagittal plane passing along the lateral side of the orbit was found to be 1.47±0.21 mm and 1.60±0.08 mm respectively in the skulls belonging to the Byzantine era and the modern era. No significant difference was found between this ratio and the golden ratio; the average value of the ratios between the distance from the SOF/N to the sagittal plane passing along the midline of the skull and the distance from the SOF/N to the sagittal plane passing along the lateral side of the orbit was found to be 0.98±0.26 mm and 1.04±0.36 mm respectively in the skulls belonging to the Byzantine era and the modern era. A significant difference was found between this ratio and the golden ratio for both historical periods (modern society and late Byzantine period) (p <0.005). The comparison of the relevant anatomic characteristics of the SOF/N is very important for anthropologists while a broad knowledge on proportional calculations regarding morphometric values and the location are important for reconstructive surgeons and the experts in forensics and pain control. © 2016, Universidad de la Frontera. All rights reserved