Abstract
Background: The lower end of femur has condyles and in between the condyles there is a gap called an intercondylar notch. The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is lodged in the notch. The ACL is closely related to the roof of the notch. A narrow notch can result ACL tear .Because of the clinical importance of notch morphology to ACL tears and as not many studies are there in the literature on dry bone; this morphological study on the intercondylar notch of femur was done. Subjects and Methods: The study was done on 30 dry femurs (15 right and 15 left femurs). The parameters obtained for the study were the width and depth of the intercondylar notch and the width and depth of the femoral condyles. The study included noting down the shape of the intercondylar notch. The intercondylar notch width index and its depth index were calculated with the above parameters. Results: It was observed that the intercondylar notch was having inverted ‘U’ shape morphology in 14 (46.66%) specimens and was inverted ‘V’ shaped in 16 (53.34%) specimens. The mean intercondylar notch width and depth, and width and depth of femoral condyles are 18.49± 11.8, 26.95± 12.7, 73.79±14.5, 56.18±13.7 respectively. P value and statistical significance, the two-tailed P value equals 0.58, 0.39, 0.84, 0.82 respectively for the width and depth of the intercondylar notch and the width and depth of the femoral condyles for the right and left femurs. By conventional criteria, this difference is considered to be not statistically significant. The notch width index and notch depth index are 0.25 and 0.47 respectively in the study. Conclusions: The present study has provided additional information on this subject .Bony morphological studies as well as the radiological studies combined with the correlated clinical studies are required to understand the pathology of ACL tears.
Highlights
The lower end of femur is enlarged and presents two rounded and eccentrically curved femoral condyles; and a notch separates these femoral condyles posteriorly called the intercondylar notch.[1]
The roof of the intercondylar notch of the femur has an inclination of 40 degrees to the longitudinal axis of the femur; and in full extension of the knee joint the roof of the notch is near to the anterior surface of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).[4]
It was observed that the intercondylar notch was having inverted ‘U’ shape morphology in 14 (46.66%) specimens [Figure 4] and was inverted ‘V’ shaped in 16 (53.34%) specimens [Figure 5]
Summary
The lower end of femur is enlarged and presents two rounded and eccentrically curved femoral condyles; and a notch separates these femoral condyles posteriorly called the intercondylar notch.[1] The intercondylar notch lodges the attachment of anterior cruciate ligament of the knee joint (ACL).[2] Jeremy M Burnham et al in their article reiterated that, no bony morphologic feature had been more studied in the context of ACL injury than the intercondylar notch. P value and statistical significance, the two-tailed P value equals 0.58, 0.39, 0.84, 0.82 respectively for the width and depth of the intercondylar notch and the width and depth of the femoral condyles for the right and left femurs. Conclusions: The present study has provided additional information on this subject .Bony morphological studies as well as the radiological studies combined with the correlated clinical studies are required to understand the pathology of ACL tears
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