Morphological And Topographical Anatomy of Nutrient Foramina In Human Upper Limb Long Bones And Their Surgical Importance

Objectives: To study the morphology and topography of nutrient foramina and to determine the foraminal index of the upper limb longbones. Materials and Methods: The study comprised of 243 upper limb long bones, which included humeri, radii, and ulnae. The nutrientforamina were identified macroscopically in all the bones and an elastic rubber band was applied around these foramina. The bones werephotographed with the digital camera and foramen index was calculated. Each bone was divided into five equal parts and was analyzedtopographically. Results: From our observations, 93.8% of the humeri had single nutrient foramen. The double foramen was observed in3.1% of the cases and the foramen was found absent in 3.1% of the humeri. In case of radius, 94.4% had single foramen, 1.4% haddouble foramen, and in 4.2% of the cases, it was absent. With respect to ulna, all the 75 bones had single foramen. The mean foraminalindex was 57.6 for the humerus, 34.4 for both the ulna and radius. The majority (70%) of the foramina in humerus were located at the 3/5 th part, 83.6% of the ulnae foramina at the 2/5th part and 87.7% of the radii foramina at the 2/5th part. Conclusions: The study has providedadditional information on the morphology and topography of nutrient foramina in upper limb long bones. The knowledge about theseforamina is useful in certain surgical procedures to preserve the circulation. As microvascular bone transfer is becoming more popular,a convention for the anatomical description of these foramina is important.