A Study on Variations of Nutrient Foramen of Humerus in Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh, India, and Its Clinical Relevance

BACKGROUND Nutrient foramen of humerus is an opening in the shaft of humerus which conducts nutrient vessels for medullary cavity. Major source of blood supply to long bone is the nutrient artery. Knowledge regarding nutrient foramen is important for orthopaedic surgeons while doing any procedure on humerus like bone grafting, plating and also plays an important role in fracture healing. We wanted to determine the location, number, and direction of nutrient foramen of humerus. METHODS The observational study was conducted on 72 adult humeri (36 of right side and 36 of left side) collected from Department of Anatomy, Kurnool Medical College, Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh from 15th September to 31st October 2020. Each humerus was observed for location, number, and direction of nutrient foramen in relation with surface, border andzone. RESULTS In the present study it has been observed that 61 % of humeri had a single foramen, 31 % had two foramina and 8 % had 3 foramina. Majority of nutrient foramina (54.95 %) were present on antero-medial surface, 12.08 % on anterolateral surface, 12.08 % on posterior surface, 19.78 % on medial border, and 1.09 % on lateral border. It was also concluded that most (94.50 %) of the foramina were present in the zone II followed by zone III (3.30 %) then by zone I (2.19 %). CONCLUSIONS Knowledge of number and location of the nutrient foramina in humerus will be helpful in preventing intra-operative injury of nutrient artery during orthopaedic, plastic and reconstructive surgery; and will also be relevant in medico legal practice. KEY WORDS Nutrient Foramen, Humerus, Nutrient Artery, Foraminal Index, Clinical Implications