The foramen parietale is an inconsistently present cranial opening at the superior margin of the os parietale.
Anatomy
The foramen parietale may be present unilaterally or bilaterally and in varying numbers. A normal foramen parietale usually does not exceed 1–2 mm in diameter1 2. The foramen parietale transmits the vena emissaria parietalis, which communicates intracranially with the sinus sagittalis superior. It sometimes also contains a small branch of the arteria occipitalis.
Clinical relevance
An enlarged foramen parietale (>5 mm), referred to in the literature as "Enlarged parietal foramina, EPF" or "Catlin mark," may indicate abnormal vascular development during fetal development3.
References
Mupparapu, Muralidhar, Robert E. Binder, and Fernando Duarte. "Hereditary cranium bifidum persisting as enlarged parietal foramina (Catlin marks) on cephalometric radiographs." American journal of orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics 129.6 (2006): 825-828. ↩ ↩
Griessenauer, Christoph J., et al. "Enlarged parietal foramina: a review of genetics, prognosis, radiology, and treatment." Child's Nervous System 29 (2013): 543-547. ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩