Is this a sagittal crest?

That may be the desiccated falx cerebri.

Hello Catherine,

It looks almost too straight to be a sagittal suture. If I were to venture a guess, I would say it appears to be the falx cerebri, a layer of the dura mater (a part of the meninges covering the brain). It extends between the two cerebral hemispheres and will appear as more of a straight line (when compared to what I would expect for a sagittal suture).

If you would like to confirm for yourself, you can type into a search engine (Google, Bing, etc) falx cerebri and xray, or CT. There are many examples that show a similar feature to the one you present here.

I have not seen any xrays of the falx cerebri, but having taught gross and comparative anatomy for many years, that was my first gut reaction.

Hope this helps.

Jason

I think it is difficult about only one RX plane. Is it possible to receive this RX with a higher quality ?

First impression: there is no reason why the sagittal suture give such this opacity. I think that this condensation is probably the falx cerebri.

very sincerely

Prof Dr J.P. Beauthier

Forensic pathology and Forensic anthropology

Universite Libre de Bruxelles

Belgium

Hi thanks for your suggestions I will look into it Sadly I am unable to get higher quality x rays I have other angles which I will attach to this message. So what causes this? I have not heard of this and would like to learn. Thank you all.

I second falx cerebri, and also think this is the skull of a child as the sagittal and coronal fontanelles are visible rather than sutures.

Dear Catherine,

The suture seems normal to me! As far as I know the term sagittal crest is used with early hominids since this prominent bone ridge adds an extra surface for muscle attachment. Evolutionary the presence of this ridge decreased and it disappeared in Human sp. I am not sure wich object do you mean actually onthe picture, maybe a better quality and an arrow could help for the colleagues.

Sincerely,

Katalin

Dear Kat,

if you want we can help you for this problem you can send us some good images of x -ray and we can aging for you the mummy

So what causes falx cerebri this? I have not heard of this and would like to learn. Thank you all.

Falx cerebri are not anomalies or anything. The brain, and spinal cord, are covered with layers of loose and dense connective tissue. Cerebrospinal fluid flows within these connective layers (referred to as meninges). The falx cerebri is made up of dense connective tissue in a layer referred to as dura mater (or tough mother) which is the outermost layer of the meninges.

Your brain is suspended in that cerebrospinal fluid, and in a way, this connective tissue (i.e. falx cerebri) keeps you from spinning your head, quickly stopping its rotation and subsequently separating your brain from your spinal cord. When you turn your head, your brain follows internally, as the falx cerebri travels deeply between the left and right hemispheres.

If you are familiar with osteology, the falx cerebri attaches at the crista galli of the ethmoid and travels posteriorly to the internal occipital protuberance (or cruciform eminence).

The falx cerebri is only one of the four dural septa. The other three are the tentorium cerebelli (separates occipital and temporal lobes), falx cerebelli (separates the left and right cerebellar hemispheres) and the diaphragm sellae (forms the roof over the sella turcica of the sphenoid bone).

If you ever have seen the sagittal sulcus on the internal aspects of the frontal or parietal bones, you have seen an impression left by the falx cerebri. Because within that dural layer, you have a vessel (called the sagittal sinus) that travels within the connective tissue (and eventually exists via your jugular foramen..

So, falx cerebri is not anything aberrant, but rather, it is just part of the 'normal' anatomy.

Hope that helps,

Jason

thanks very much Jason that helped me a lot.

As a follow-up on the fontanelles, this article has a good x-ray of a skull with open fontanelles. They usually close at 18 months but can remain open in some pathological conditions.

http://www.hcplive.com/publications/family-practice-recertification/2013/October2013/Misdiagnosis-of-Rib-and-Skull-Fracture-in-a-Month-Old-Infant

And this article has an x-ray of a calcified falx cerebri. The one in your mummy wouldn't be calcified, I don't think - just dried. Lots of shadows and phantoms (technical term, really!) on x-rays get radiologists excited, but they often have different interpretations on mummies.

http://www.edoj.org.eg/vol009/0901/007/01.htm

Hello Catherine,

The inner and outer tables (and diploe) of the skull are normal; the superior triangle at the top is the "Superior sagittal sinus" . So you have a normal coronal XR of a child skull!

You can see also the beginning of the "frontal sinus"development. They take their individual anatomical characteristics about 2 years and are visible on XR about 6 or 8 years old. Under the right orbit, sit the maxillary sinus; at 5 years they take a pyramid shape but I only see its foramen!

Best regards. PhiL.

Dear Catherine,

This radiograph is of a skull which has been cut from anterior to posterior aspect and as the brain has been removed we can see the folds of duramater which is well described by Jason. can you make it clear about which structure you really wish to know in this x ray film? The haziness along the orbit is due to soft tissue.

it's just the raised line along the back of the skull, but I've discovered its a normal variant.

A normal variant! Falx cerebri aren't pathological nor is a bit of sagittal keeling.