Glenoid cavity morphometric study in human scapula

Relevance. Scapula is one of the bones that takes part in the formation of shoulder joint and has variable morphology. It is weak joint because glenoid cavity is variable in vertical diameter and transverse diameter. Hence glenoid cavity is shallow and gives rise to frequent dislocation of shoulder joint. Aim of the present study was to know various dimensions of glenoid cavity like vertical diameter and horizontal diameter and their variations in percentages. Materials and Methods. Fifty unknown dry human scapulae from the department of anatomy (Mahatma Gandhi Medical College, Sitapura, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India) constituted the materials for the present study. Each scapula was studied for glenoid cavity. The vertical diameter and horizontal diameters were studied from each above scapula. Twenty five scapulae were from right side and twenty five were from left side. The different shapes of glenoid cavity were observed. The shapes were pear shaped, inverted comma shaped and oval shaped. Results and Discussion. In the present study pear shaped glenoid cavity was found in 56 %, Inverted comma shape was found in 26 % and oval shape was observed in 18 %. The most common shape was pear shape (56 %) and least common shape was oval shape (18 %). The mean glenoid height was 35.52 mm. The maximum glenoid height was 41.22 mm and minimum glenoid height was 30.19 mm. The mean glenoid width was 20.77 mm. The maximum glenoid width was 24.31 mm and minimum glenoid width was 17.93 mm. Conclusion. Study showed that glenoid cavity has varied morphology. This varied morphology will be of great useful in various clinical and surgical procedures like hip replacement and in posterior glenoid osteotomy.