Incidence of the metopic suture in adult Nigerian skulls.

This study was carried out on 206 adult Nigerian skulls for the incidence of the metopic suture. Metopism was present in 3.4% of cases, and a metopic suture (complete or incomplete) was observed in 34.97% of the skulls. The metopic suture was present in the lower part of the frontal bone, in various shapes, in 30.10% of cases. The most common shape observed was linear type (24.27%). Inverted U-shaped, and wide side to side excursion, were found in 0.49% of cases of each kind, these being the least common form of the suture. The incidence in the upper, upper middle and lower middle parts of the frontal bone was 0.49% in each type.