Abstract Aim: The objectives were to study the morphology of the foramen magnum in dry skulls and to evaluate its antero-posterior diameter, transverse diameter and morphological variants of the shapes of foramen magnum. Materials and Methods: The foramen magna of 61 dry human cadaver skulls that were obtained from Department Anatomy IIMSR Warudi, Badnapur Different shapes of the foramen magnum were macroscopically noted and classified. The antero-posterior and transverse diameters were measured. Results: The foramen magnum shapes were determined as a round shape in 29.50% of cases, tetragonal in 18.03%, oval in 31.14%, irregular in 11.47%, hexagonal in 8.19% and pentagonal in 1.63% of the cases. The mean antero-posterior and transverse diameter of the foramen magnum was determined as 39± 2.2 mm and 37.5 ± 2.5 mm respectively. Conclusion: The present study has determined the various shapes of foramen magnum and its morphometry. The data obtained may be of useful to the neurosurgeon in analyzing the morphological anatomy of craniovertebral junction. The findings are also enlightening for the Anthropologists, morphologists and clinical anatomists.

Keywords: Foramen magnum, Morphology, Morphometry, Shape, Skull.