ABSTRACT
Abstracts: Background & Objectives: Nutrient foramen is a natural opening into the shaft of a bone, allowing for passage of blood vessels into the medullary cavity. This study aims to determine the number, location, size and direction of nutrient foramina of long bones of the lower limb. Which information is very important in orthopedic surgical procedures. Methodology: This study consisted of 120 adult human cleaned and dried bones of the lower limbs. They were divided into three groups 40 bones of each. Were studied above mentioned. Measurements were taken with Vernier Caliper. Results: Number: 40% of the femurs had a single foramen, 60% had double foramina. For the tibia, 100% had a single nutrient foramen. 80% of the fibula had a single nutrient foramen and 20% had double nutrient foramen. Position: femur: Of the total 48 foramina, 8(16.6%) were in the proximal third (Type-1) and 40(83.3%) in the middle third (Type-2). Tibia: Of the total 30 foramina, 27(90%) were in the proximal third (Type-1) and 3(10%) were in the middle third (Type-2). There were no foramina in the distal third (Type- 3).Fibula: Of the total 36 foramina, 35(97.2%) existed in the middle third (Type-2) and 1(2.7%) were in the distal third (Type-3). There were no foramina in the proximal third (Type-1).In femur all foramina directed proximally & in tibia all are directed distally while in fibula total 36 nutrient foramina observed out of them, 28 (77.71%) was directed distally; while 8(22.2%) was proximally. Conclusion: The study confirmed previous reports regarding the number and position of the nutrient foramina in the long bones of the lower limbs. Information and details about these foramina is of clinical importance, especially in surgical procedures like bone grafting and microsurgical vascularized bone transplantation.