STUDY   OF   PLEUROAPOPHYSEAL   MALFORMATION   OF   HUMAN   ATLAS   VERTEBRAE   AND   ITS   CLINICAL   SIGNIFICANCE   IN   WESTERN MAHARASHTRA REGION Shaikh Jasmeen Vajir * 1 ,  Shaikh Shirin Vajir 2 . * 1  Assistant Professor, Department of Anatomy, Vinayaka Mission’s Medical college & Hospital , Karaikal, Pondicherry, India. 2   Consultant Cardiologist, SVS Institute of Neurosciences, Kachiguda.  Hyderabad. Telangana, India. Correspondence   Address:    Dr.   Shaikh   Jasmeen   Vajir,   Flat   no.407,      Swamy   Towers,      Behind   Apollo   Hospital,   Basheerbagh,   Hyderguda.   Hyderabad   -500029. Telangana, India. Mob. 09967280998 / 9030890972  E-Mail:  drshaikhjasmeen@gmail.com ABSTRACT: Background:   Atlas   vertebra   is   one   of   the   important   bony   components   of   the   Craniovertebral   Junction   (CVJ).   It   has   articular   relationship   with   Occipital   bone and   Axis   vertebra   to   complete   CVJ.   Variations   of   the   Human   Atlas   vertebra   are   more   frequently   found   in   the   Indian   subcontinent   than   anywhere   else   in   the world. Materials   and   Methods:   Four   hundred   foramina   transversarium   of   two   hundred   human   Atlas   vertebrae   of   unknown   sex   and   age   from   the   Western   region of   Maharashtra   were   grossly   studied.   The   samples   taken   for   study   were   intact,   fully   dried,   ossified,   and   that   they   were   free   from   osteophytes   and metastatic   tumors.   All   samples   were   obtained   from   Department   of   Anatomy   and   Forensic   toxicology   of   Grant   Medical   College   and   Sir   J.J.   group   of   Hospitals, Mumbai,    India.    Each    Atlas    vertebra    was    observed    for    the    presence    or    absence    of    Pleuroapophyseal    malformation    and    also    noted    whether    this malformation was unilateral or bilateral. Results:   In   the   present   study   out   of   200   dry   human   atlas   vertebrae,   10   cases   (5%)   of   pleurapophyseal   malformations   irrespective   of   age   and   sex   were   noted in   the   Western   region   of   Maharashtra.   Out   of   these   10   cases,   08   cases   were   observed   on   left   side,   01case   on   right   side   and   01   case   of   bilateral pleurapophyseal malformations was present. The statistical analysis was done using the statistical package GraphPad Prism 5 software. Conclusion:   This   knowledge   of   variation   in   FT   of   Atlas   vertebra   is   surgically   relevant   as   pleuroapophyseal   malformation   and   narrowing   of   FT   is   one   of   the proposed causative factor for cervicogenic headache. KEY WORDS: Pleuroapophyseal Malformation, human atlas vertebrae, Forensic toxicology, osteophytes and metastatic tumors. References 1 . 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