Normative measurements of orbital structures on magnetic resonance images; a cross-sectional study with mini review of the literature

Purpose Awareness of normative values of extra orbital structures would provide useful information to interpret the radiological images better and use them for diagnostic purposes. This study aimed to reveal the average values of major extraocular structures measured on magnetic resonance images. Methods In this retrospective cross-sectional study, magnetic resonance (MR) images of 256 orbits of 128 patients were re-interpreted regarding the measurements of major orbital structures. Extraocular muscles, superior ophthalmic vein, and optic nerve-sheath complex were measured on orbital MR images of these patients. The data distributions were presented by box-plot analyses for each parameter, and the measurement results were analyzed regarding gender and age groups. Results Lateral rectus muscle thickness (LR), inferior rectus muscle thickness (IR), globe position (GP), and interzygomatic line (IZL) values were higher in the male group than in the female group (p values were < 0.001, 0.003, 0.020, and < 0.001 respectively). LR, the thickness of the superior group muscles (SUP GR), IR, superior oblique muscle thickness (SOBL), and the thickness of optic nerve-sheath complex (ON) values indicated a significant relationship between age groups. There was a significant, positive, and low-level correlation between age and LR, SUP GR, and IR values (p values were < 0.001, 0.001, and < 0.001, respectively). Conclusion This study provides quantitative data on normative values of orbital structures with gender and age group comparisons. Clinicians or surgeons can easily use the measured values to gather diagnostic information from the orbital region.