Prevalence of the Arcuate Foramen: A Comparative Study Between a Chalcolithic and a Contemporary Iberian Peninsula Sample

Background: The arcuate foramen (AF) is a bony bridge formed by the ossification of the atlantooccipital ligament that covers the groove of the vertebral artery (VA). It contains the VA, the suboccipital nerve and the vertebral venous plexus. Objectives: We aimed to assess and compare the frequency of the complete AF in a Chalcolithic and a contemporary Iberian Peninsula sample. Methods: We analyzed in situ the presence or absence of the AF in 34 adult Iberian Peninsula Chalcolithic skeletons and in 120 Iberian Peninsula adult present-day subjects that underwent a computed tomography study. Results: The AF prevalence was 11.6% for the current subjects and 11.8% for Chalcolithic remains (p = 0.927). No significant difference was observed in AF presence between males and females in both the present-day (p = 0.757) and Chalcolithic samples (p = 0.580). Conclusions: There were no AF prevalence differences between the Iberian Peninsula Chalcolithic and the present-day Iberian Peninsula samples analyzed. This information will serve to provide pertinent knowledge regarding the presence of the AF in Iberian Peninsula Chalcolithic samples in comparison to Iberian Peninsula present-day subjects.