Morphometric changes in foramen rotundum before adulthood: a CT study

Morphometric changes in foramen rotundum before adulthood: a CT study. Download PDF Abstract The aim of this study is to evaluate the morphometric characteristics of the foramen rotundum (FR) during childhood and adolescence using computed tomography (CT) scans, to identify age-related developmental changes, the effect of sex and bilateral asymmetry, and to present age-specific normative data. A total of 600 FRs were retrospectively analyzed on head CT scans of 300 individuals under 18 years of age (150 females, 150 males) from a Central Anatolian population.

Cases were categorized into five developmental stages. Canal length (CL), mid-sagittal distance (MD), foramen width (FW), and foramen height (FH) were measured. Age was an independent predictor for all parameters ( p < 0.005), whereas the effect of sex was negligible (d ≤ 0.17).

Mean MD was 12.5 mm in the 1–2-year group and 17.9–18.0 mm in the 14–17-year group, while mean CL was 4.0 mm and 8.5 mm, respectively. Regression analysis predicted about 2.8 mm greater CL and 3.5–3.7 mm greater MD per 10-year difference in age. The largest relative differences between consecutive age groups were observed in MD in early childhood, in FH around school age, and in CL in adolescence.

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