Morphometric Study of Nutrient Foramina in Typical Adult Human Long Bones of Superior Extremity with its Clinical and Surgical Importance: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Introduction: The nutrient foramina are the openings which provide passage to the nutrient vessels on the shaft of long bones. Nutrient arteries play a crucial role in development of the bones particularly during its growth period in the embryo and foetus. Aim: To find out the morphology, topography and variations of nutrient foramina along with their Foraminal Index (FI) in typical adult human long bones of superior extremity. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was done on 370 typical adult dried human long bones (93 humerus, 196 radius and 81 ulna) of upper extremity which were obtained from the Department of Anatomy, Government Medical College, Baroda, Gujarat, India from January 2016 to June 2019. These samples were studied for the presence of number, location and direction of Nutrient foramen. Total length of the bone with the help of osteometric board and distance of nutrient foramina from upper end were measured with the help of sliding vernier calipers. The FI were also determined with the help of Hughes formula. Data was calculated using Microsoft (MS) Excel 2010 version. Results: In present study, it was observed that out of 93 humerus, 69 (74.19%) humerus had a single nutrient foramina, 14 (15.05%) had double foramina and 10 (10.75%) had absent nutrient foramen. Single nutrient foramina was present in 174 (88.77%) radius, double were observed in 02 (1.02%) and 20 (10.20%) had no nutrient foramina. In case of ulna, 75 (92.93%) were having single, 4 (4.93%) were having double nutrient foramina and 2 (2.46%) had absence of foramina. In present study, nutrient foramina were directed away from the growing end in all typical long bones. All the nutrient foramina in humerus were directed distally, whereas in radius and ulna those were directed proximally. Ninety two (85.98%) humerus nutrient foramina were most commonly present in the middle third of humerus bone. In 01 (0.93%) humerus, nutrient foramen was present in the upper third of the bone. In radius, 109 (55.33%) nutrient foramina were present in the middle third while 69 (38.76%) were present in the upper third of the bone. In ulna, 49 (57.64%), nutrient foramina were present in the middle third and 34 (40%) nutrient foramen they were present in the upper third of the bone. Conclusion: Knowledge of the morphology, topography and variations of nutrient foramina along with their FI is of clinical importance.