A Study of Adult Human Femoral Diaphyseal Nutrient Foramina

Abstract

BACKGROUND Long bones receive majority of its nourishment through nutrient arteries. These arteries enter long bones through nutrient foramina. It is important to have an understanding of diaphyseal nutrient foramina in femur, especially in orthopaedic surgical procedures. The aim of the study is to evaluate the common number, location & direction of nutrient foramina of femur. MATERIALS AND METHODS This is a descriptive study of 100 cleaned and dried human adult femora which were taken from Department of Anatomy, Guntur Medical College, Guntur and Osmania Medical College, Hyderabad and each femur was studied for location, direction & number of nutrient foramina. RESULTS The mean number of nutrient foramina per femur bone was 1.43 and mean distance of nutrient foramen from upper end was 20.5 cm. The foraminal index obtained was 49%. The commonest location of the nutrient foramen was on linea aspera {55.2%}. 52% of femora had only one nutrient foramen, while 44% had two nutrient foramina. 82.5 % of nutrient foramina were observed in the middle third of femur. All femora observed have the nutrient foramen directing upwards. CONCLUSION The study on nutrient foramina of long bones has clinical significance in interventional procedures like orthopaedic transplant techniques & microvascular bone transfer procedures.

The Number and Determinants of Nutrient foramina among dry human femur bones from the East African population: A Cross-section study

“…Determinants of nutrient foramina: The mean number of nutrient foramina was 1.4 (SD±0.5). This is consistent with the findings among the Asian population [12]. On average, the number of foramina were more among femurs from: left side, females, non-Ugandan, and femurs with third trochanters (Table 1).…”

“…This could explain the differential growth rates among the different femur parts. Although this study did not assess the topography of the nutrient foramina, previous studies consistently report the predominance of nutrient foramina in the mid-shaft of the femur [8,12,13]. Consequently, the mean mid-shaft circumference would be expected to be the greatest in this study.…”