The etiology and genetics of wormian bones

Abstract

Abstract The relationship between the length of the basi‐occiput and the presence of wormian bones is studied in 116 Negro, 113 White, and 50 Southwestern American Indian adult male crania. Among all three races, there is a statistically significant difference between those individuals who possess wormian bones and those who do not. Furthermore, the basi‐occiput length in the Negro, regardless of sutural bones, differs significantly from that in the White, but differences between the White and the American Indian were not present. It is suggested that wormian bones are not under direct genetic control, but instead represent secondary sutural characteristics which are brought about by stress.