ABSTRACT
Background: Nutrient foramen is an opening in the bone shaft which allows passage to the blood vessels of themedullary cavity of a bone for its nourishment and growth. Knowledge about precise location and direction ofthe nutrient artery of long bones is important during any surgical or orthopaedic procedures of limbs, such asbone grafts and microsurgical vascular bone transplantations. This study was carried to record the number,situation and position of nutrient foramina in humerus of adults in south Indian population.Materials and methods: The study was conducted on 85(Right-38, Left-47) humerii collected from AnatomyDepartment of Coimbatore Medical College, Coimbatore. Length of each humerus bone was measured with thehelp of osteometric board. With the help of hand lens bones were observed for the number, direction andlocation of nutrient foramen with respect to the surface and borders.Results: In the present study majority of humerus bones have single nutrient foramen(64.7%) and mainly locatedon the anteromedial surface(51.7%) followed by medial border (36.5%) especially in the middle one third (87.1%)of the humerus.Conclusion: This study may give precise knowledge about location and number of nutrient foramina which isimportant for orthopaedic surgeons during surgical procedures such as fracture repair, bone grafts andmicrosurgeries.