Morphometric Study of Proximal End of the Fully Ossified Human Femur: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Abstract

Introduction The femur or thigh bone is the longest and strongest bone in the body. It provides skeletal support for the thigh. Weight-bearing and stability of gait are the essential functions of the femur. Aim To construct the baseline data on different dimensions of the proximal end of the fully ossified human femur and determine any significant differences between the right and left femora. Objective To measure the total length of the femur, proximal breadth, vertical diameter of the head, transverse diameter of the head, the circumference of the head, the vertical diameter of the neck, the transverse diameter of the neck, the circumference of the neck, anterior length of the neck, neck-shaft angle, length of the intertrochanteric crest and correlate the different dimensions of the proximal end with the total length of the femur. Result The variables of the proximal end of the left femora like proximal breadth (PB), the circumference of the head (CH), vertical diameter (VDN), the transverse diameter of the neck (TDN), the circumference of the neck (CN), neck length (NL), neck-shaft angle (NSA), length of an intertrochanteric crest (LITC) showed highly significant positive linear correlation with the length of the femur. Circumference of the neck showed the highest degree of correlation with the length of the femur (correlation coefficient 0.839). Conclusion The statistically significant difference between right and left femora was found between the length of the femur, the vertical diameter of the neck of the femur, the transverse diameter of the neck of the femur, and the length of the intertrochanteric crest of the femur. The mean value of proximal breadth, the vertical diameter of the head, the transverse diameter of the head, the circumference of the head, the circumference of the neck, anterior length of the neck of the femur, and neck-shaft angle of the right and left femora to have no statistically significant differences.