Orbital Dimensions - A Preliminary Direct Measurement Study Using Dry Skulls in a Sri Lankan Population

Abstract

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Purpose: Anatom ical proportion and osteom etric m easurem ents in orbits are vital for clinical assessm ent and treatm ent of patients, which vary considerably am ong nations w orldwide. These m easurem ents are of value in a variety of specialities such as craniofacial reconstructive surgery, genetic counseling, and forensic medicine. This study w as carried out to assess the osteom etric m easurem ents of orbits of Sri Lankans. M e th o d s: Tw enty-seven bony skulls were obtained from the Departm ent o f Anatom y of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, which were categorized into either sex according to external characteristics. M e asu re ­ m ents were obtained using a m anual vernier caliper by 2 authors independently. Each m easurem ent w as done 3 times, and the m ean value w as taken. Results: M e an orbital index (M O I) varied from 0.84 ± 0.06 cm, with half of the sam ple [50% (27/54)] and 27.7% (15/54) belonging to the m icrosom e and megasom e categories, respectively. Both categories had equal sex distribution and were higher than the present literature. M icrosom e and m egasom e categories were com m only right [59.3% (16/27)] and left [66.7% (10/15)] orbits, respectively. M e an orbital width (3.83 ± 0.28 cm) w as greater than m ean orbital height (3.21 ± 0.16 cm). Biorbital distance and intraorbital distance had a m ean value of 9.51 ± 0.47 cm and 2.09 ± 0.36 cm, respectively, with equal sex distribution. Interfronto-m alare-tem poral m ean distance w as 10.91 ± 0.41 cm with no sex difference. Conclusions: Orbital param eters in the adult population provide a useful baseline and anthropom etric data, which will be of clinical and surgical interest in ophthalm ology, oral and maxillofacial surgery, and even neurosurgery. M o re extended research is needed to develop Sri Lankan reference values.