https://www.ijmhr.org/ijar.htm editor_anatomy@ijmhr.org
ISSN:       2321-4281 (E) 2321-8967 (P)

IJAR.2017.399

DOWNLOAD PDF
Table of Contents

Type of Article:  Original Research

Volume 5; Issue 4.2 (November 2017)

Page No.: 4575-4580

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.16965/ijar.2017.399

POSTICUS PONTICUS: ITS INCIDENCE AND DIMENSIONS IN NORTH INDIAN POPULATION

Gultaj Paul 1, Rajan Kumar Singla 2, Harsimarjit Kaur 3, Harsimran Grewal 4.

*1 Senior resident, Department of Anatomy, Government Medical College, Patiala, Punjab, India.

2 Professor and Head, Department of Anatomy, Government Medical College, Patiala, Punjab, India.

3 Associate Professor, Department of Anatomy, Government Medical College, Patiala, Punjab, India.

4 Senior Resident, Department of Anatomy, Government Medical College, Patiala, Punjab, India.

Address for Correspondence: Dr. Gultaj Paul , Senior Resident, Department of Anatomy, Government Medical College, Patiala, Punjab -147001, India. E-Mail: gultaj_paul@yahoo.co.in

ABSTRACT

Background: Atlas the first cervical vertebra, shows great morphological variations. Frequently bony spurs arise from the anterior and posterior margin margins of the groove for vertebral artery and sometimes convert the groove into a foramen termed as Posticus Ponticus or arcuate foramen or retroarticular foramen. This type of foramen is reported by different workers to be present in 2.25% to 45.9% of the population depending upon the age, gender, side and race.

Aim: to find out the incidence and type of Retroarticular foramina, their relation with side and their different diameter and cross sectional area.

Materials and Method: the present study was conducted on 40 complete (80 sides) undamaged dry human atlas vertebra of unknown age and gender obtained from the Department of Anatomy, Government Medical College, Patiala, Punjab.

Results: complete foramen was found bilaterally in one vertebra (2.5%) and unilaterally on left side in 2(5%) & on right side in 1 (2.5%) vertebra. Thus it was more on the left side as far as side is concerned. If taken unilaterally in toto, out of 80 sides of 40 vertebra it was seen in 5 (6.25%) sides. However partial bridging or incomplete foramen was seen bilaterally in 33 (82.5%) and on right side only in 2 (5%) & on left side only in 1 (2.5%) vertebra.

Conclusion: neurologists, neurosurgeons and medical community in general should have knowledge about the variation and try to look for it when dealing with patients complaining of symptoms of vertebro-basilar insufficiency like headache, vertigo, shoulder and arm pain.

Key words: Arcuate foramen, Retroarticular foramen, Vertebro-basilar insufficiency.

REFERENCES

  1. Anand N. Back. In .Standring S,editor. Gray’s Anatomy The Anatomical basis of Clinical Practice. 41st New York : Elsevier;2016.p. 710-73.
  2. Tubbs RS, Johnson PC, Shoja MM, Loukas M, Oakes WJ. Foramen arcuale: Anatomical study and review of literature. J Neurosurg Spine 2007; 6(1):31-4.
  3. Lamberty BG, Zivanovic S. The Retroarticular vertebral artery ring of the atlas and its significance. Acta Anat 1973;85:113-22.
  4. Taitz C, Nathan H. Some observations on the posterior and lateral bridge of atlas. Acta Anatomica 1986;127(3):212-7.
  5. Mitchell J. The incidence and dimensions of the retroarticular canal of the atlas vertebra. Acta Anat (Basel) 1998;163(2):113-20.
  6. Hasan M, Shukla S, Siddiqui MS, Singh D. Posterolateral tunnels and ponticuli in human atlas vertebrae. J Anat. 2001 Sep;199(3):339-43.
  7. Manjunath KY. Posterior bridging of the atlas vertebra in south Indians. Indian J Med Sci. 2001 Sep;55(9):488-90.
  8. Unur E, Erdogan N, Ulger H, Ekinci N, Ozturk O. Radiographic incidence of complete arcuate foramen in Turkish population. Arastirmalar (Research reports). Erciyes Tip Dergisi (Erciyes Medical Journal) 2004;26(2):50-4.
  9. Cakmak O, Gurdal E, Ekinci G, Yildiz E, Cavdar S. Arcuate foramen and its clinical significance. Saudi Med J. 2005 Sep;26(9):1409-13.
  10. Paraskevas G, Papaziogas B,Tsonidis C, Kapetanos G. Gross morphology of the bridges over the vertebral artery groove on the Atlas. Surg Radiol Anat 2005;27:129.
  11. Krishnamurthy A, Nayak SR, Khan S, Prabhu LV, Ramanathan LA, Kumar CG, Sinha AP. Arcuate foramen of Atlas: incidence, phylogenetic and clinical significance. Romanian J of Morphol and Embryol. 2007;48(3):263-66.
  12. Simsek S, Yigitkanli K, Comert A, Acar HI, Seckin H, Er U et al. Posterior osseus bridging of C1. J Clin Neurosciences.2008 Jun;15(6):686-8.
  13. Shilling J, Schilling A, Galdames IS. Ponticulus posticus on the Posterior Arch of Atlas, Prevalence Analysis in Asymptomatic Patients. Int. J. Morphol.2010; 28(1):317-22.
  14. Sharma V, Chaudhary D, Mitra R. Prevalence of Ponticulus posticus in Indian Orthodontic Patients. Dentomaxillofac Radiol.2010;39(5):277-83.
  15. Kuhta P, Hart J, Greene-Orndorff L, Mc Dowell-Reizer B, Rush P. The prevalence of posticus ponticus: retrospective analysis of radiographs from a chiropractic health center. J Chiropr Med.2010 Dec;9(4):162-5.
  16. Zambare BR, Reddy BB. The Retro-articular ring of Atlas and its clinical significance. Anatomica Karnataka.2011;5(2):74-6.
  17. Agrawal R, Ananthi KS, Agrawal S, Usha K. Posterior arch of atlas with abnormal foramina in South Indians.J. Anat. Soc. India.2012;61(1):30-2.
  18. Baesa SS, Bokhari RF, Bajunaid KM, Al-Sayyad MJ. Prevalence of the foramen arcuale of the atlas in Saudi population. Neurosciences 2012;17(4):345-51.
  19. Shinde VS, Mallikarjun M. Study of abnormal foramen over the posterior arch of atlas vertebra. Int. J Morphol. 2012;30(2):557-8.
  20. Chitroda PK, Katti G, Baba IA, Najmudin M, Ghali SR, Kalmath B et al. Ponticulus posticus on the Posterior arch of Atlas, Prevalence Analysis in Symptomatic and Asymptomatic Patients in Gulbarga Population. J Clin Diagn Res. 2013;7(12):3044-7.
  21. Lalit M, Piplani S, Arora AK, Kullar JS, Sharma T. Incidence of Atlas Bridges and Tunnels- their phylogeny, ontogeny and clinical implications. Rev Arg de Anat Clin. 2014;6(1):26-34.
  22. Akhtar MJ, Fatima N, Ritu, Kumar V. A Morphological study of Ponticuli of the human Atlas vertebra and its clinical significance. Int J Anat Res. 2015;3(4):1597-1602.
  23. Patel NP, Gupta DS, Parmar ND. Incidence of Ponticles in Human Atlas vertebra – A study from South Gujarat Population. Ind J of Clin Anat and Physiol.2015;2(3):135-9.
  24. Bharathi A, Navakalyani, Janaki V, Gouri TL. Variations in atlas vertebra in Telangana region. IOSR Dental and Med Sci. 2016 March; 15(3):59-62.
  25. Kumar BS, Selvi GP. Arcuate foramen of Atlas vertebra. Innovare J of Med Sci.2016;4(3):22-4.
  26. Seema, Verma P, Mahajan A. Study of Human Atlas Vertebrae for the presence of Retroarticular groove or canal in North Indians. Int J Anat Res. 2016;4(3):2518-21.
  27. Le double AF. Traiteu des variations de la colonne vertebrae de i’homme et de leur signification au point de vue de i’anthropologique zoologique. Paris: vigot frères; 1912.
  28. Frazer JE. Vertebral Coloumn. In: Frazer JE, editor. The Anatomy of human skeleton. 4th London : J and A Churchill;1940.p. 8-38.
  29. Stubbs DM. The Arcuate foramen. Variability in distribution related to race and sex. Spine.1992;17(12):1502-4.
  30. Macalister A. Notes on the homologies and comparative anatomy of the atlas and axis. J Anat Physiol.1868;3(1):54-64.
  31. Le Minor JM. The Retrotransverse foramen of the human atlas vertebra- a distinctive variant within primates. Acta Anatomica. 1997;160:208-12.
  32. Cushing KE, Ramesh V, Gardner-Medwin D, Todd NV, Gholkar A, Baxter P et al. Tethering of the vertebral artery in the congenital arcuate foramen of the atlas vertebra: a possible cause of the vertebral artery dissection in children. Dev Med Child Neurol.2001 July;43(7):491-6.
  33. Limousin CA. Foramen arcuale and syndrome of Barre-Lieou. Its surgical treatment. Int Orthop. 1980;4(1):19-23.

Cite this article: Gultaj Paul, Rajan Kumar Singla, Harsimarjit Kaur, Harsimran Grewal. POSTICUS PONTICUS: ITS INCIDENCE AND DIMENSIONS IN NORTH INDIAN POPULATION. Int J Anat Res 2017;5(4.2):4575-4580. DOI: 10.16965/ijar.2017.399