Research Information System
TURKIYE KLINIKLERI TIP BILIMLERI DERGISI, vol.31, no.1, pp.15-21, 2011 (SCI-Expanded)
Objective: Calcaneus is the largest tarsal bone that supports talus and is frequently involved in fractures. The relation between talus and calcaneus is distorted in some disorders such as pes-equino varus or pes-plano valgus. A thorough knowledge of the anatomical variations of anterior and middle facets, sustentaculum tali and the sulcus in between them is essential in order to keep the osteotomy extra-articularly. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to describe detailed morphometry of calcaneus. Material and Methods: In this study, 80 calcanei (40 right, 40 left) from the collection of Dokuz Eylul University Department of Anatomy were used. The lengths of the bones were measured using vernier caliper which is sensitive to 0.01 mm, and thickness of the bones was measured using digital caliper with a sensitivity of 0.01 mm. In addition, medial angle of sustentaculum tali was measured by Image Tool on the digital photographs taken from the upper surface of the calcaneus. Results: In 38.7% of the cases, a sulcus (anterior calcaneal groove) was identified between middle and anterior facets. In 61.3%, there was no sulcus between the facets. In cases with a sulcus, a transverse line beginning from the middle of sulcus towards the lateral side (osteotomy line) was found to be average 13.3 mm posterior to the calcaneocuboid joint on a-verage. Between middle and posterior facets, four different morphologic types of posterior calcaneal groove were identified. The average depth of this groove was 2.3 mm. It was observed that the groove was funnel shaped in 40%, reverse funnel shaped in 3.9%, sandglass shaped in 35% and cylindric in 21.3%. We detected 2.8 foramens on average in the posterior calcaneal grooves and 47.5% of these were localized at the 1/3 anterior region. Medial angulation of sustentaculum tali was 115 degrees on average. Conclusion: We believe that the results of this study are important for orthopedic surgeons who perform extraarticular osteotomy at distal calcaneus or deal with calcaneal fractures.