Olecranon aperture of the humerus – a morphometrical study

Abstract

Introduction/Objective Olecranon aperture is a variable opening in the septum between the olecranon and coronoid fossae. Its frequency varies largely in different populations and knowledge of its presence may have clinical implications. The objective of our study was to determine its prevalence in a sample of Serbian population and to investigate its morphology and morphometrical features, as well as its relation to the distal end of humerus.

Methods A material used were 70 dry human humeri from the bone collection of the Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Niš. We analyzed the presence, shape, transverse and vertical diameter of the aperture, its distance to the tips of the epicondyles from medial border (MB) and lateral border (LB), as well as the distance between epicondyles (EW) and translucency of the septum in the bones with no aperture. Vernier caliper was used for measurements of the diameters and distances.

Results Eight olecranon aperatures were observed in seven bones (10%), seven on the left and one on the right side. Half of them were oval-shaped, while round, triangular, and irregular shape were found. Translucent septum in humeri with no aperture was present in 67.1% of the sample. There were no significant differences between MB and LB, neither between EW in bones with aperture and with septum.

Conclusion Our study presented the rare data about the frequency of olecranon aperture in Serbian population, suggesting that robusticity of the humerus is not related to the presence of the olecranon aperture.

Keywords: human anatomy; anthropology; supratrochlear foramen; septal aperture; fracture