Biometry of bone components in the talonavicular joint: a cadaver study.

INTRODUCTION

Exhaustive biometric data of the talus and the navicular bones have not been reported in the classical anatomy treatises.

HYPOTHESIS

The radiographic measurements, being variable according to the X-ray beam inclination, have no real value. This biometric analysis aimed to specify the characteristics of the constitutive bone components of the talonavicular joint.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

This anatomic study investigated the biometry of the talus and the navicular bones separated from anatomic specimens with no previous disease history from adult subjects whose sex was unknown. It was completed by in situ dissection and evaluation of talonavicular and talocalcaneal joints conducted to gain an understanding of the bone specimens in three dimensions. The measurements were taken using a highly precise measuring tape and a comparator providing the length and the width of the articular surfaces. The comparator determined the surface pattern and the radii of curvature in the two main axes.

RESULTS

The results emphasize the variations in the bone specimens. Three morphotypes emerged, which had never been identified before.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

These biometric data make up a database designed to improve clinical exploration. They can be used as landmarks for fundamental comparative research between all the bone structures of the hindfoot and thus provide a logical classification of the different pathological conditions and a reasoned adaptation of therapeutic protocols.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Experimental study, level IV.