Traumatic Diastasis of Metopic Suture in an Adult Skull Victim of a Gunshot Wound: a Case Report

Abstract

The metopic suture is a mid-sagittal plane variant of cranial syndesmosis, visualized from the nasion to the bregma. In most cases, the metopic suture closes during the first year of age; however, there are rare occurrences of persisting metopic suture in adults. Metopism is caused by incomplete fusion of the two embryological halves of the frontal bone. Usually, skull entry gunshot wounds are round or oval in shape and leave characteristic marks on the bone. Exit gunshot wounds to the skull are larger and more irregular. Herein we present a rare case of a human skull with a gunshot wound causing a traumatic diastasis of a complete, persisting metopic suture found during forensic examination. The gunshot wounds of the skull increase intracranial tension pressure and as a result an opening on the level of the nasion and nasofrontal suture was observed.