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Femoral neck anteversion: an orthopaedic evaluation between multi‐regional populations
Author(s) -
Schachar Jeffrey Scott,
Charubhumi Daniel,
Marquez Samuel
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.23.1_supplement.822.6
Subject(s) - femoral condyle , femur , medicine , trochanter , femoral neck , anatomy , coronal plane , orthodontics , surgery , osteoporosis , cartilage
Femoral neck anteversion (FNA) varies with age, sex, and ontogenetic growth pattern. This study examined African (Af), European (E), and two Asian groups, one of which, an Inuit (I) population from osteological collections of the American Museum of Natural History. FNA is the angular difference between proximal and distal ends of the bone. A line was drawn in the coronal plane through the lateral and medial femoral condyles. A second line was drawn from the greater trochanter to the head of the femur, through the center of the femoral neck. The intersection forms the anteversion angle. Selecting only male and right femurs controlled for the confounding variables of sex and asymmetries. Statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) were found between E and I groups and between Af and I groups. Average anteversion angle for the Af group was 15.7 degrees, 11.1 for the E group, 33.4 for the I group, and 23.0 for the Asian group. Developmentally, the amount of FNA is 40 degrees at birth, decreasing to ~15 degrees at maturity. The study revealed that the I sample presented with the largest angle, displaying excessive femoral torsion. Femoral torsion is viewed symptomatically as in‐toeing, which usually corrects without treatment as the child matures. Our results suggest that the Inuit sample may not have undergone the physiologic torsion reduction of 25 degrees as seen in the other representative samples. Grant Funding Source N/A