The morphometric development and clinical importance of the hyoid bone during the fetal period

It was aimed that the morphometric development of the hyoid bone throughout the fetal period be anatomically researched and its clinical importance be evaluated. A total of 90 human fetuses (44 male, 46 female) whose ages varied between 18 and 40 gestational weeks and without an external pathology or anomaly were involved in the study. The fetuses were divided into groups according to gestational weeks and trimesters. In the wake of making the general external measurements of fetuses, the neck dissection was performed. Following the localization of the hyoid bone, the morphometric parameters pertaining to the hyoid bone were measured. The averages of the measured parameters according to the gestational weeks, trimesters and months, and their standard deviations were determined. There was a significant correlation between the measured parameters and the gestational age (p < 0.001). Between the genders, there was no difference among the other parameters, except for those regarding the distance between the hyoid bone and columna vertebralis, the hyoid bone corpus length, the hyoid bone right cornu majus initial width, the hyoid bone left cornu majus initial width, and the upper distance between the hyoid bone cornu majus (es) (p > 0.001). We are of the opinion that the data obtained during our study will be of use to forensic physicians and the involved clinicians in the evaluation of the development of the hyoid bone area during the fetal period, and in clinical studies and practices.