Mazengenya Pedzisai, Mokoena Palesa, Billings Brendon Kurt, Manjatika Arthur Tsalani
College of Medicine, Ajman University, Ajman, United Arab Emirates.
Centre of Medical and Bio-allied Health Sciences Research, Ajman University, Ajman, United Arab Emirates.
Sci Rep. 2025 Jan 23;15(1):2939. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-83505-1.
Fractures of the humerus are common on the midshaft of the bone, often causing injury to the nutrient artery. Successful fracture repair and healing requires preservation of the blood supply to the long bones which is conveyed through the nutrient foramina (NF). The topography of long bone NF varies in different populations. These variations can affect the preservation of blood supply to long bones during fracture repair management. The current study aimed to determine the topography and morphometry of the NF of the humerus in different populations of South Africa including the South African Africans (SAA), South Africans of European descent (SAED), and South Africans of mixed ancestry (SAMA). The study examined 596 dry humerii from the three South African populations, sourced from Raymond A. Dart Collection of Modern Human Skeletons. The parameters examined included the presence, number, location, position, size and direction of the NF, and foramina index (FI). The NF were present in 97.1% of the humerii. Majority of bones (76.8%) evinced a single NF with a diameter equal to or larger than 1.27 mm. The number of NF varied across the different population groups (p = 0.000), with SAA having more humerii presenting with a single NF and SAED having more humerii with two NF. The position of NF varied within and across populations (p = 0.002). Males in SAED had a higher mean FI on both the right (p = 0.030) (effect size = 0.258) and left (p = 0.022) (effect size = 0.421) sides than females. SAED had a lower mean FI than SAMA (p = 0.002) (effect size = 0.384). The location of NF varied across different populations (p = 0.000), with SAA having more NF located on the anteromedial surface and medial border, and SAED having more NF located on the lateral border (p = 0.000). NF were directed towards the distal ends of the shafts in 99.8% of bones and towards the proximal end in 0.2% of bones. The topography and morphometry of the nutrient foramina of the humerus are variable in the South African populations. Knowledge of the NF variations may aid in the management of humerus fractures.
肱骨干骨折在肱骨中轴较为常见，常导致滋养动脉损伤。成功的骨折修复与愈合需要保留通过滋养孔（NF）输送至长骨的血供。长骨滋养孔的形态在不同人群中存在差异。这些差异可能会影响骨折修复处理过程中长骨血供的保留。本研究旨在确定南非不同人群（包括南非非洲人[SAA]、欧洲裔南非人[SAED]和混血南非人[SAMA]）肱骨滋养孔的形态和测量数据。该研究检查了来自南非这三个群体的596具干燥肱骨，这些肱骨来自雷蒙德·A·达特现代人类骨骼收藏。所检查的参数包括滋养孔的存在情况、数量、位置、方向、大小以及滋养孔指数（FI）。97.1%的肱骨存在滋养孔。大多数骨骼（76.8%）有单个直径等于或大于1.27毫米的滋养孔。不同人群组的滋养孔数量存在差异（p = 0.000），SAA群体中单个滋养孔的肱骨更多，而SAED群体中有两个滋养孔的肱骨更多。滋养孔的位置在人群内部和不同人群之间均有变化（p = 0.002）。SAED群体中男性右侧（p = 0.030）（效应量 = 0.258）和左侧（p = 0.022）（效应量 = 0.421）的平均滋养孔指数均高于女性。SAED群体的平均滋养孔指数低于SAMA群体（p = 0.002）（效应量 = 0.384）。滋养孔的位置在不同人群中存在差异（p = 0.000），SAA群体中更多的滋养孔位于前内侧表面和内侧缘，而SAED群体中更多的滋养孔位于外侧缘（p = 0.000）。99.8%的骨骼中滋养孔朝向骨干远端，0.2%的骨骼中滋养孔朝近端。南非人群中肱骨滋养孔的形态和测量数据存在差异。了解滋养孔的差异可能有助于肱骨骨折的处理。
