The bony growth, which is known as an “external occipital protuberance,” can be found at the back of the skull, just above the base of the neck. The role of the projection is to distribute force over a large area of the bone’s surface and it can arise at spots near ligaments, tendons, or joints.
What causes enlarged external occipital protuberance?
Children use these devices with their head tilted down and poor posture resulting in increased stress on the skull from attached structures and develop an exostosis at the external occipital protuberance (EOP). This is more commonly known as a bone spur, or excess bone formation on the surface of another bone.
Does everyone have an external occipital protuberance?
There are still some human populations which often exhibit occipital buns. A greater proportion of early modern Europeans had them, but extremely prominent occipital buns in modern populations are now fairly infrequent, but exist frequently in certain populations.
How can you prevent occipital protuberance?
Occipital Knob Reduction
It can be completely reduced by a rotary burring of the excess bone through a very small horizontal scalp incision directly over it. Occipital knob reductions can be combined with custom skull implants in some patients who have a flattening of the back of the head above the knob area.
Why is there a bump in the back of my skull?
A bump on the back of the head has many possible causes, including injuries, cysts, fatty growths, inflamed hair follicles, and bone spurs. Bumps on this part of the body can be hard or soft, and they can vary in size. Injuries are a common cause of bumps and lumps on the back of the head.
Do females have external occipital protuberance?
The spine type (Type 3) EOP is found to be 63.4% in males and to be 4.2% in females.
Is external occipital protuberance bad?
Besides, the aforementioned “horns” are actually bone spurs on the external occipital protuberance at the base of the skull, which we all have to some degree. While bone spurs on the external occipital protuberance are unlikely to cause symptoms, poor posture is known to contribute to neck and back pain in many people.
Can occipital neuralgia be cured?
Treatment of occipital neuralgia aims to alleviate the pain; however, it is not a cure. Interventions can be surgical or non-surgical.
Why it is called inion?
Etymology. From Ancient Greek ἰνίον (iníon, “occipital bone; back of the head”).
What is a inion?
Definition of inion
: the external occipital protuberance of the skull.
What is the weakest part of the skull?
The pterion is known as the weakest part of the skull. The anterior division of the middle meningeal artery runs underneath the pterion. Consequently, a traumatic blow to the pterion may rupture the middle meningeal artery causing an epidural haematoma.
What is an inion bump?
In addition, each human skull has a natural bump on the back of the head. This bump, called an inion, marks the bottom of the skull where it attaches to the neck muscle.
What is bone protuberance?
a : a prominence on the outer surface of the occipital bone midway between the upper border and the foramen magnum that with the external occipital crest gives attachment to the ligamentum nuchae. — called also external occipital protuberance, inion.
