Remodeling patterns of occipital growth: a preliminary report

Occipital growth depends on coordinated deposition and resorption on the external and internal surface and includes interrelated processes of movement: cortical drift, displacement, and relocation. The current work aspires to map patterns of remodeling activity on the endocranial surface of the occipital bone from childhood to adulthood using a larger study sample compared with previous studies. The study sample consists of 5 adult and 10 immature (2(1/4) to 8 years old) occipital bones from skeletal remains from the eighteenth and nineteenth century. Preparation of the samples includes the elaboration of negative impressions, positive replicas coated with gold, and observed with the reflected light microscope. Cerebellar fossae are typically resorptive in both immature and adult specimens. Cerebral fossae, on the other hand, exhibit a resorptive surface in early childhood and turn into depository around the age of 7 years, which places this transition within the age interval of the completion of cerebral development. Depository fields are also observed in adult cerebral fossae. The remodeling map presented here is consistent with the results of Mowbray (Anat Rec B New Anat 2005;283B:14-22) and differs from cellular patterns described by Enlow. Future research implicating more elements of the neurocapsule can shed light on the factors affecting and driving occipital growth.