Abstract
The aim of this study was to report a case of a paramastoid apophysis of a human skull,
identified during routine lessons at the Laboratory of Human Anatomy, Federal University
of Pernambuco and Recife-PE, Brazil. The skull used in this study showed a morphological
variation present only on the right side of the occipital bone, which had a height
of 18.10 mm and had a facet joint with the transverse process of the atlas, being
identified as paramastoid apophysis. Other anatomical variations in skull were found
as: presence of sutural bone along the lambdoidal suture and persistent metopic suture.
Thus, this study will be important for the health sciences and those who keep interest
in pathologies associated with atlanto-occipital joint, because the description of
the structures that deviate from the normal organogenesis resulting from disorders:
hereditary basis or not, has a practical interest that prints the modification to
the arrangement of the constituent elements of the region and possible functional
alterations resulting therefrom.
Keywords
anatomy - anatomic variation - occipital bone
