A case of occipitalization in the human skull

Occipitalization of the atlas is an osseous anomaly of the craniovertebral junction. The aim of this paper is to present an anatomical variant of the fused atlas with the occipital bone and discuss similar cases described in literature. The skull of an adult male analysed in this study belonged to the cranial collection of the Department of Anatomy of the Jagiellonian University, Medical Collage. A tight bony fusion between the anterior arch of the atlas, the left portion of the posterior arch, the lateral masses of the atlas, and the occipital bone was observed. Hence, the left and right superior articular facets of the atlas were fused with the corresponding occipital condyles. The anteroposterior dimension of both inferior articular facets was the same (20 mm), while the transverse diameter of the right one was considerably smaller (12 mm). The transverse diameter of the left inferior articular facets was 17 mm. The right and the left transverse process of the atlas were normally developed, each of them contained transverse foramen, and they were not fused with the occipital bone. The circumference of the foramen magnum was minimally diminished by the osseous structures of the atlas fused to the occipital bone. The sagittal and transverse diameters of the foramen magnum (38 mm x 34 mm) were within the normal range of variation. However, the asymmetrical anatomy of the inferior articular facets of the atlas give rise to speculation that movement in the atlantoaxial joint was disturbed by assimilation with the occipital bone. (Folia Morphol 2010; 69, 3: 134-137