ORIGINAL ARTICLES

Relationship between the computed tomographic volumetry of the eyeballs and lacrimal glands in a Nigerian population

Bukunmi Michael Idowu¹, Stephen Olaoluwa Onigbinde², Allen Li Chen³, Jordan B Hughes³, Oluwaseun Olaniyi Awe⁴, Joseph Adetola Adedigba³

¹ Union Diagnostics and Clinical Services, Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria
² Department of Anatomical Sciences, School of Medicine, St George’s University, Grenada, West Indies
³ Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA, USA
⁴Department of Ophthalmology, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria; Department of Ophthalmology, Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Complex, Ile-Ife, Nigeria

Correspondence Address:
Dr. Bukunmi Michael Idowu
Union Diagnostics and Clinical Services, Yaba, Lagos Nigeria

Source of Support: None
Conflict of Interest: None

Aim: The aim of this article was to obtain measurements of the eyeballs/globes and lacrimal glands in normal subjects using cranial computed tomography (CT) scan. Understanding the normative approximations of these measurements could help in diagnosing and evaluating orbito-ocular pathologies.

Materials and Methods: This retrospective study examined 220 globes/eyeballs and 220 lacrimal glands of 110 consecutive participants. The eyeball volume was calculated using both the ellipsoid and spherical formulas, whereas lacrimal gland volume was approximated using the ellipsoid formula only.

Results: The mean age of the subjects was 51.18?±?14.85 years and ranged from 22 to 85 years. The study population was 53.6% male (n = 59) and 46.3% female (n = 51). The mean volumes of all globes in this study were 5.82?±?0.77 and 5.98?±?0.75 cm3 using the ellipsoid and spherical formulae, respectively. The mean volume of all lacrimal glands was 0.42?±?0.14 cm3 using the ellipsoid formula. The mean globe volumes using the ellipsoid and spherical formulae (6.02?±?0.84 and 6.02?±?0.84 cm3) in males were significantly larger than the corresponding mean globe volumes in females (5.59?±?0.62 and 5.80?±?0.65 cm3) (P < 0.0001 and P = 0.001, respectively). There was no significant difference between the lacrimal gland volumes of males (0.42?±?0.14 cm3) and females (0.42?±?0.14 cm3) (P = 0.84).

Conclusion: Males have larger eyeball/globe volumes than females. Eyeball and lacrimal gland volumes did not correlate significantly. Eyeball volume showed an inverse relationship with age. Age did not affect lacrimal gland volume.