Lanka Ranaweera; Perera, P. I.; Pathiraja, P. P. M. C. K.; Sulani, W. N. & Wijesooriya, W. A. P. S.

Blood supply to the diaphysis of long bones is majorly through nutrient artery, which enters the bone via nutrient foramen. The present study aims to identify morphological and morphometric variations of nutrient foramina of the femur, which is the largest long bone of the body extending from the pelvis to knee. A sample of 81 Sri Lankan adult femur were analyzed. The mean length of the femur analyzed was 436.93 mm and mean foramen index was 43.52. The majority of the bones had a single nutrient foramen. The predominant location of the nutrient foramen was on the posterior aspect of the bone in the middle third of the shaft according to the study. Majority of foramina were directed distally. The indices on nutrient foramen are important for procedures such as bone grafts and tumor resections, in managing trauma, orthopedic procedures and radiological interpretations.

KEY WORDS: Femur; Nutrient foramina; Morphology; Morphometric variations.

RANAWEERA, L.; PERERA, P. I.; PATHIRAJA, P. P. M. C. K.; SULANI, W. N. & WIJESOORIYA, W. A. P. S. Study of morphological and morphometric variations in Sri Lankan femoral diaphysial nutrient foramina. Int. J. Morphol., 38(5):1311-1316, 2020.