A study on the nutrient foramina of adult humerii.

BACKGROUND It is not uncommon to see the non union of the fractures in the long bones. Among the various reasons for the nonunion of the fractured bones, the nutrient artery plays an important role. OBJECTIVES This study was aimed at analyzing the nutrient foramina in dry adult humerii ,with regards to the number, size and the location of the nutrient foramen with respect to the surfaces and the zones and its distance from the mid point of the humerus. MATERIALS This was an analytical study. All the humerii from various medical colleges of the Vinayaka Missions University in Salem were included in the study. Those which were damaged and those which had pathological abnormalities were excluded. The following parameters were noted; namely, the length of the humerus, the number and the size of the nutrient foramen and the location of the nutrient foramen with respect to the surfaces and the zones of the humerus and its distance from the mid-point of the humerus were analyzed. The length of the humerus and the mid point of the humerus were measured by using the osteometric board, whereas the size of the nutrient foramen was measured by using various size of hypodermic needles. When more than one foramen was found, the larger one was taken as the dominant foramen and its size was measured. All the data were noted and the statistical analysis was done by calculating the mean, the range and the standard deviation. RESULTS Totally, 258 adult dry humerii were studied. The mean length of the humerii was 27.96 cm, with a SD of 2.18. The mean size of the nutrient foramen was 0.828 mm, with a SD of 0.26. The mean distance of th dominant nutrient foramen from the mid point of the humerus was 2.31 cm, with a SD of 1.25 cm. In majority of the humerii (86.43%), the nutrient foramen was located in the middle 1/3(rd) of the bone and in 13.57% of the bones, it was located in the lower 1/3(rd) of the bone. The location of the nutrient foramen in the anteromedial surface was 89.92%, that in the posterior surface was 8.53% and that in the anterolateral surface was 1.55%.