BACKGROUND The posterior half of the foot is made of seven tarsal bones. Talus is seen above calcaneus. It has a head, neck and body. There are three facets anterior, middle and posterior facets that articulate with corresponding facets of the calcaneus. The middle and posterior facets are separated by a groove sulcus tali. We wanted to know the morphometric measurements of talus in South Keralites in this study. METHODS The study was done on 68 dry human tali of unknown age and sex in the Department of Anatomy, Government medical college, Trivandrum. The measurements were taken i.e., length, width and height of talus using vernier calipers. The length, width and height of sulcus tali were also measured. The range and mean of measurements were estimated. The calcaneal facets were studied and classified to find the most common and least common types. Data analysis was performed using SPSS ver 16.0. RESULTS The mean anteroposterior length of the talus was 4.84 ± 0.44 cm. The mean transverse length was 3.46 ± 0.47 cm. The mean height of the talus was 2.56 ± 0.31 cm. Anteroposterior length ranged from 3.84 to 6.07. The transverse length of the talus ranged from 2.81- 5 cm. Height of talus ranged from 2 - 3.2 cm. The mean anteroposterior length of sulcus tali was 2.09 ± 0.45 cm. The mean height of sulcus tali was 0.55 ± 0.09 cm. The mean width of sulcus tali was 0.62 ± 0.30 cm. Anteroposterior length of sulcus tali ranged from 1.4 - 3.8 cm. The transverse length of sulcus tali ranged from 0.34 to 1.6 cm. Height of sulcus tali ranged from 0.2 to 0.7 cm, regarding the type of facets, type 2 was most common and type 4 was found to be absent. CONCLUSIONS The adequate knowledge of the anatomy of the talus is significant not only to the anatomists but also to the orthopaedic surgeons as fractures of the talus are quite common and lead to avascular necrosis, arthritis and when unrecognized, chronic pain and non-union 3. Talectomy has been described as a limb-saving procedure for the treatment of neglected talipes equinovarus deformity. KEY WORDS Talus, Sulcus Tali, Calcaneal Facet Morphometric Measurements of Talus in South Keralites.

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BACKGROUNDThe islets of Langerhans is an important endocrine gland, which regulate the blood glucose level. The rise in the blood glucose level results in diabetes mellitus, an age old disease which affects all the systems of our body. Nowadays, an increase in the incidence of diabetes is noticed in younger age groups also. The increased intake of alcohol in our state also affects the gland. Scientific advancement like islet transplantation makes most of them correctable. So we found it is very important to assess the age related changes in the islets of Langerhans. MATERIALS AND METHODSSixty two autopsied specimens of pancreas in an age range from 6 months to 83 years were collected for analysis from the mortuary of Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. Histological examination of the glands was done in the Histology Laboratory of Department of Anatomy, Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. RESULTSA significant association between age and diameter of islets were observed in the present study. The number and size of beta cells showed a gradual increase up to 40 years, thereafter the cell number decreased considerably. In a chronic alcoholic patient, hyperplasia of islets and deposition of amyloids within the islets were observed. CONCLUSIONThe number of beta cells decreased after the age of 40 years. The beta cell destruction may be due to chemicals, diet, genetic factors and autoimmune diseases. The decrease in the number of beta cells result in type I diabetes mellitus.