A comparison of anatomical measurements of the infraorbital foramen of skulls of the modern and late byzantine periods and the golden ratio

Abstract

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.