Radiological Analysis of the Proximal Femoral Morphology in Normal Korean Adults

Suh, Kuen Tak; Lee, Sang Hyun; Cho, Byung Mann

Abstract

PURPOSE: The proximal femoral morphology of normal Koreans was studied by radiographs.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Proximal femoral morphology and ratio of lever arm in abductor muscle in 101 normal adults were measured and their correlations were comparatively analyzed.
RESULTS
The femoral head diameter was 48.7+/-4.0 mm. The femoral neck shaft angle was 127.8+/-5.2 degree. The medial trabeculae angle was 20.0+/-1.2 degree. The femoral offset was 36.5+/-3.9 mm. Also, the tip of the greater trochanter relative to the level of femoral head center lay higher in 91 of 101 subjects (90.1%), upon examination and in average, located 3.8+/-3.4 mm higher. The ratio of the abductor lever arm to the distance between the femoral head center and the body midline was 1: 2.1+/-0.2.
CONCLUSIONS
The relationship between the tip of the greater trochanter of femur and the center of femoral head appeared to have wide individual differences with 0.89 coefficient of variation. Therefore, the tip of the greater trochanter was an unreliable anatomical indicator of femoral head center. The femoral neck shaft angle and the length of the medial trabeculae showed a significant correlation (P=0.001). However, a significant negative correlation existed between the femoral neck shaft angle and the femoral offset (P=0.024)