The morphology of the pterion and asterion sutures in Iranian population

The pterion and asterion are at the outer surface of the skull. The pterion is the region where the frontal, sphenoid, parietal and temporal bones join together, and the asterion is the intersection of parietal, temporal and occipital bones. The sutural pattern of both are different in the various population and races. This study examines the patterns of suture of the pterion and asterion in 210 semi-skulls of 146 males and 64 females cadaver. Four main types of anatomical patterns were found: sphenoparital 84.2%, frontotemporal 8.1%, star shaped 3.5% and epipteric 2.4%. In the study of asterion, in 14.7%, type I, and 86.3% type II was observed. In the first study of the sutural pattern of the pterion and asterion in Iranian population, similarity to the other studies of the Indian and Middle Eastern regions was observed.