Morphometric Study of Nutrient Foramen in Femur in Marathwada Region

Background: Long bones receive most of the interosseous blood supply from the nutrient artery (70-80%) and the remaining (20-30%) from periosteal vessels. The importance of the nutrient artery is denoted by its name ‘nutrient'. There are only one or two dominant nutrient foramina (DNF) in any long bone. Their location and direction of the nutrient canal is important landmark during fracture reductions, tumors as well as in transplant surgeries. The present study is helpful to orthopedic surgeons as well as microvascular surgeons for the planning of surgery. Aim: To study number, location, the direction of nutrient foramina and FI of the femur. Material and Methods: This study was conducted on 163 dried human cadaveric femora in the Department of Anatomy, Government Medical Colleges in the Marathwada region. Osteometric board, Vernier calipers, 24 G needles were used to find out various parameters under study. Results: We have found that 60.73% of femora had 1 DNF, 34.96% had 2 while 4.29% had 3 DNF. 100% nutrient canals were directed away from the growing end. 80.34% NF was found in the middle segment of the femur on or near linea aspera with mean femoral index (FI) where FI is a ratio of is distance of NF from the proximal end of the femur to L the total length of the bone. It was found to be 44.68. Conclusion: The present study provides additional information about the numbers and locations of NF of the femur. Along with that, it adds data about the diameters of the shaft of the bone.