Morphological Traits Around Patellofemoral Joint in Indian Femora and their Implications.

[trochlear dysplasia]

Knowledge of structural variations around patellofemoral joint has helped to understand postural behavior patterns of various population groups . The biomechanical impact of postures may lead to certain skeletal modifications which may contribute to knee pathologies like patellofemoral arthritis , patellar subluxation and trochlear dysplasia . This study was conducted to report the incidence of skeletal non-metric markers on femur in Indian population and to understand their correlation with some pathologies of patellofemoral joint . The traits studied were Martin 's facet , Peritrochlear groove and Supratrochlear facet .T he study material was a collection of 152 adult femora from osteology museum in Department of Anatomy , Maulana Azad Medical College , New Delhi , India , with equal percentage of bones from each side and gender . All bones were evaluated for the above mentioned traits and results were obtained as percentage of incidence and Chi -Square test using SPSS version 17 .T he data showed that Martin 's facet and Peritrochlear groove showed a higher occurrence in male femora . However , Supratrochlear facet was more commonly found in female bones . Martin 's facet had an equal incidence on femora of each side while peritrochlear groove and supratrochlear facet had higher percentage of occurrence on right side . Supratrochlear facet revealed significant side variation .These data suggest that casual or occupational postures may impose structural adaptations around patell- ofemoral joint . The stress of these postures may have causal ,consequential or co -incidental relationship with joint pathologies . The gender , special occupations like sports and genetic predisposition may possibly have a role to play .