Measurement and relationship of the inclination angle, Alsberg angle and the angle between the anatomical and mechanical axes of the femur in males.

Abstract

The present study was undertaken to determine whether there is a constant difference between the angle of inclination and the Alsberg angle and to evaluate statistical relationships between the inclination angle, Alsberg angle and the angle between the anatomical and mechanical axes of the femur. Measurements were taken from 50 male femurs (25 right and 25 left, aged 30-40 years) from the Anatomy Department, Cukurova University: inclination angle was determined between the neck and the shaft of the femur; Alsberg angle, between a line drawn through the base of the epiphyseal plate and shaft of the femur, and the angle between the anatomical and mechanical axes. The results showed that, for the right and left femurs respectively, the average inclination angle was 123.72 degrees and 125.96 degrees; the angle between the anatomical and mechanical axes was 6.24 degrees and 5.96 degrees; and the average Alsberg angle was 39.92 degrees and 40.61 degrees. The difference between the angle of inclination and the Alsberg angle in this study was 83.80 degrees and 85.36 degrees for the right and left femurs respectively. The correlation, coefficient between the angle of inclination and Alsberg angle was 0.96 and 0.93 for the right and left femurs respectively, while those between the angle between the anatomical and mechanical axes and inclination angle were -0.89 and -0.91 for the right and left femurs respectively. Furthermore, the correlation coefficient between the angle between the anatomical and mechanical axes and Alsberg angle were -0.88 and -0.90 for the right and left femurs respectively.