Morphological Traits Around Patellofemoral Joint in Indian Femora and their Implications.

Abstract

Knowledge of structural variations around patellofemoral joint has helped to understand postural behavior patterns of various population groups. The biomechanical impact of postures may lead to certain skeletal modifications which may contribute to knee pathologies like patellofemoral arthritis, patellar subluxation and trochlear dysplasia. This study was conducted to report the incidence of skeletal non-metric markers on femur in Indian population and to understand their correlation with some pathologies of patellofemoral joint. The traits studied were Martin's facet, Peritrochlear groove and Supratrochlear facet. The study material was a collection of 152 adult femora from osteology museum in Department of Anatomy, Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi, India, with equal percentage of bones from each side and gender. All bones were evaluated for the above mentioned traits and results were obtained as percentage of incidence and Chi-Square test using SPSS version 17. The data showed that Martin's facet and Peritrochlear groove showed a higher occurrence in male femora. However, Supratrochlear facet was more commonly found in female bones. Martin's facet had an equal incidence on femora of each side while peritrochlear groove and supratrochlear facet had higher percentage of occurrence on right side. Supratrochlear facet revealed significant side variation. These data suggest that casual or occupational postures may impose structural adaptations around patell- ofemoral joint. The stress of these postures may have causal,consequential or co-incidental relationship with joint pathologies. The gender, special occupations like sports and genetic predisposition may possibly have a role to play.