IJCRR

IJCRR - 5(6), March, 2013

Pages: 76-79

Date of Publication: 30-Mar-2013

MORPHOMETRIC STUDY OF HUMAN FEMUR

Author: Khaleel N., Hussain Saheb Shaik

Category: Healthcare

Abstract:The femur or thigh bone is the longest and strongest bone in human body. It length is associated with striding gait and strength is associated with weight and muscular forces. The study was undertaken in 50 femurs for measuring length, anterioposterior diameter of shaft at upper, middle and lower segments. The results were the mean length of femur was 437.44+31.44mm and mean anteroposterior diameter of shaft at upper segment was 26.56+2.14mm middle segment was 28.50+2.45mm lower segment was 28.50+2.45mm. The knowledge of morphometric values is helpful to anthropological and forensic practice.

Keywords: Femur, Anterioposterior diameter, Anthropological practice.

Full Text:

INTRODUCTION
Skeleton it plays role in various sciences like medicine, forensic sciences, anthropology. Estimation of sex, age race, stature by skeleton and the presence of disease is discovered by Krogman and Iscan1 . They stated that record of organic evolution is largely written by the hard parts of the body recognizable even after many years after death. Sex is determined after death by skeletal remains of that individual by some forensic anthropologists with the help of pelvis and skull. It is somewhat easier to identify the sex of individual. Here in the present study we are taking the femur either individually or in combination has been subjected to statistical and morphological analysis for the purpose of determination of sex. It is commonly accepted that the examination and statistical analysis of femoral anthropometry among different populations reveals a great amount of variation due to the fact that the femoral anthropometry measurements from different countries are like to be affected by racial variations in diet, heredity, climate and other geographical factors related to life style. Anatomists all over the world were contributing their best and helping to widen the scope for better understanding of the intricate structure of the human body. Strecker et al2 stated that mean values of lengths of right and left femora were found to be similar, although the left femora was generally showed larger values than right, they were not significantly greater, these results are in accordance with those but vertical diameter of right femoral head, which was greater than corresponding left femur. Parsons3 proposed that there was no significant bilateral difference found in bones, he reported that males has bigger neck shaft angles than females through his study and statement in population, in another study of same author studied on sex determination of human femur by using univariate or multivariate discriminate analysis. Parsons and bell4 stated that there was no significant statistical bilateral difference found in bones. Stewart5 studied on maximum femoral length and stated that female was 446mm. Sex determination with maximum anteroposterior diameter of shaft is discussed by Mac Laughlin and Bruce6 . Dittrick and Suchey7 have used either univariate or multivariate discriminate analysis for sex determination and concluded that end of femur bone produced 10% greater accuracy than maximum length or midshaft circumference. William et al8 stated that the axial skeleton weight of male is relatively and absolutely heavier than that of female. Discriminate analysis confirmed that the male femur is usually larger than the female femur9. Distal epiphyseal breadth, maximum length and anteroposterior diameter of midshaft gives 92.3% classification accuracy, distal epiphyseal breadth alone proved 94.9% of accuracy10. Lealavathy et al11 stated that maximum length of femur was found to be the nest parameter in sex determination of the femora. The knowledge of morphometric values is helpful to anthropological and forensic practice.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
The material used for the study contained 50 human femora of unknown sex obtained from different SV medical college, Tirupathi, Andhra Pradesh. The instruments used are metal sliding caliper and osteometric board. The maximum length of femur and anterioposterior diameter of upper, middle and lower shaft of femur was measured.

Maximum Length
It measures the straight distance between the highest point of the head and deepest point on the medical condyle. Femur should be placed with its dorsal side upwards on the osteometric board in such a manner that the epicondyle touches the short vertical wall. The movable cross piece should touch the highest point of head. Osteometric board was used for this purpose.

Anteroposterior diameter of shaft
Upper segment – It measures the anteroposterio diameter of the upper shaft taken at right angle to the transverse diameter of shaft. Middle segment – It measures the distance between the anterior and posterior surfaces of the bone approximately at the middle of the shaft that is the highest elevation of the linea aspera. Lower segment – it measures the distance between the anterior posterior margins of the lower part of the shaft, approximately 4cm above the cartilaginous margin of the condyles taken in the mid sagittal plane. Sliding caliper was used for this purpose.

RESULTS
The results were the mean length of femur was 437.44+31.44mm, right it was 435.11+29.68mm and left was 440.17+33.84mm, maximum length was 514mm and minimum length was 373mm. Mean anteroposterior diameter of shaft at upper segment was 26.56+2.14mm on right it was 26.41+1.92mm and left was 26.74+2.39, the middle segment was 28.50+2.45mm on right it was 26.19+2.02mm and left was 26.60+2.38mm, lower segment was 28.50+2.45mm on right it was 28.15+2.39mm and left was 28.91+2.50mm. No significant difference found between right and left.

DISCUSSION
The femur bone is the longest and strongest bone in human body. Its length is associated with striding gait and strength is associated with weight and muscular forces. Its shaft is almost cylindrical in most of its length and bowed forwards. Proximally the rounded head projects medially on its short neck. Distally it is strong, having two condyles which articulate with tibia. On standing, femora are oblique, shaft converge downwards and medially. Femoral obliquity approximates the feet, bringing them under the line of body weight in standing or walking. It gives the forward movement by increasing speed  and smoothness. The femoral obliquity is greater in women due to greater in women due to greater pelvic breadth and shorter femora. The maximum length of the femur varies from a minimum of 373mm to maximum of 514mm with a mean value of 437.44mm. When this is compared to the range of unknown sex, 42 femora out of 50 could be identified as belonging to male and 8 to female. Comparisons were drawn separately for male left and right femora, because individual tend to favor one limb over other. It also has been observed that the female femur is shorter than male and in male the left longer than right and vice versa in female12 . Maximum length of femur was the best parameter for sexing the unknown femora11. Maximum length was measured following the standard techniques recommended by Martin and Seller13 . Discriminate analysis confirmed that the male femur is usually larger than the female femur9 sex differences in long bones is that typically male bones are longer and more massive than typically female bones1 . Anteroposterior diameter of femoral shaft in the present study we had taken measurements of femoral shaft at three different site, Upper – just below the lesser trochanter, Middle – approximately at the middle of shaft that is highest elevation of linea aspera. It measures the distance between anterior and posterior surfaces of the bone. Lower – approximately 4 cm above the cartilaginous margin of condyles taken in mid sagittal plane. Upper anteroposterior diameter of femur ranges from minimum of 22mm to maximum of 32mm with a mean value of 26.56mm. Middle anteropostero diameter of femur varies from minimum of 22mm to maximum of 30mm with a mean value of 26.38mm. Lower anteropostero diameter of femur ranges from minimum of 24mm to maximum of 35mm with a mean value of 28.50mm, when this is compared to the range of known sex 47 out of 50 femora identified as belonging to male and 3 to female by using upper anteroposterior diameter, 45 out of 50 femora could be identified as belonging to male and 5 to female by using middle anteroposterior diameter, 50 out 50 could be identified as belonging to male only by using lower anteroposterior diameter. Anteroposterior diameter of femoral shaft has been reported earlier by Purkait R14, the results of our study are not correlating with this study. Maximum anteroposterior diameter of shaft was measured following the technique given by Mac Laughlin and Bruce6 . Studies by Steyn and Iscan reval that all dimensions of femur were larger in males than in females but determination of sex of an individual from a single femur were a more difficult task15. The shaft of femur is so shaped that it varies at midlevel and at subtrochantric level. Hence several transverse and sagittal diameters are useful1 . According to Martin and Saller13 study femora are categorized in to Hyperplatymeric, Platymeric, Eurymeric and Stenomeric. In the present study 50 femora are categorized into 6 femora belongs Platymeric, 30 are Eurymeric, 14 are Stenomeric and non of femora belongs to Hyperplatymeric. Every parameter independent of others contributes certain percentage of certainty to decide the sex of unknown femur, therefore it is clear that based on no single parameter, sex of femur can be decided. All the parameters have to be considered together for this purpose.

CONCLUSION
The knowledge of morphometric values is helpful to anthropological and forensic practice.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Authors acknowledge the great help received from the scholars whose articles cited and included in references of this manuscript. The authors are also grateful to authors / editors / publishers of all those articles, journals and books from where the literature for this article has been reviewed and discussed. Authors are grateful to IJCRR editorial board members and IJCRR team of reviewers who have helped to bring quality to this manuscript.

References:

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3. Parsons, F.G. The character of the English thigh bone. Journal of Anatomy and physiology 1914; 48: 238-267.

4. Pearson K and Bell J. A study of long bones of the English Skelton Part-I femur, in the influence of race side and sex. Cambridge University Press, London, 1919; 128-130pp.

5. Stewart, T. D., "Identification by the Skeletal Structures," in Gradwohi's Legal Medicine, F. E. camps, Ed.3rd ed. Year Book Medical Publishers, Chicago, 1976;109-135pp.

6. Mac Laughlin SM, Bruce MF. A simple univariate for determining sex from fragmentary femora: its application to a Scottish short cist population. Am J Phys Anthropology 1985;67:413–7.

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8. William, P.L., Warwick, R., Dyson, M. and Bannister, L.H.: Gray’s Anatomy. Churchill Livingstone, Edinburgh 1989.

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12. Singh S.P, Singh S. A study of femoral curvature index in Indian subjects; Journal of Anatomical Society of India. 1973; 22(2): 86-89.

13. Martin, R. and Saller, K. Lehrbuch der Anthropologie. Gustav Fisher Verlag, Stuttgart, 1957.

14. Purkait R, Chandra H. Sexual Dimorphism in Femora: An Indian Study. Forensic Science Communications. 2002; 4(3):1-6.

15. Taner Zuylan, Khalil Awadh Murshid. An analysis of Anatolian human femur Anthropometry Turk j med sci. 2002; 32; 231-235.