English

Abstract

BACKGROUND The peculiar waddling gait of a female attracts most of the anatomists to measure and compare the neck-shaft angle (NSA) of the femora. The femoral neck shaft angle is greater in women due to greater pelvic breadth and shorter femur. Neck-shaft angle was measured by the angle that the neck makes with the shaft of the femur and it is measured on the ventral surface of femur taking the long axis of femoral neck with the long axis of the proximal end of the femur. It gives information about the race it belongs to and normally measures 120° to 140°. The intention of this study was to establish the femoral neck shaft angle variations in adult male and female for medico-legal and anthropometric studies. METHODS This cross-sectional study was conducted on 84 adult human femora of unknown sex in the anatomy department, Sriram Chandra Bhanja (SCB) Medical College, Cuttack, Odisha, from May 2018 to April 2019. We included all the femora which were free of damage or deformity and fully ossified indicating adult bone. Femora with any pathological changes i.e., cortical bone deterioration, extreme osteophyte activity, osteoarthritis and fracture etc. were excluded from the study. The NSA was measured by protractor and goniometer. RESULTS In the present study the NSA range for the right femur of male was 108° - 135° and for the right femur of females 117° - 135°. The left male femur was 118° - 135° and the left female femur was 120° - 135°. The mean neck shaft angle of male femora was 125.9° and the female femora was 125.7°. These measurements show that the values were more in males than the females. The value of the present study was statistically significant between male and female i.e., P < 0.0001. CONCLUSIONS These measurements are important in the medico-legal cases, reconstructive orthopaedic surgeries, hip replacement surgeries and also while constructing suitable prosthesis. This will also be helpful in the detection of sex by anatomists and forensic experts. KEY WORDS Neck Shaft Angle, Medico-Legal, Anthropometry and Goniometer