Abstract
The aim of the present study was to study the diaphyseal nutrient foramina in human lower limb long bones. The material of the this study consisted of 90 adult human long bones of the lower limbs (30 femora, 30 tibiae, 30 fibulae). For each bone, the number and position of their nutrient foramina were studied. With the exception of femur, the majority of nutrient foramina in all bones studied were single in number and were secondary in size. Most of the nutrient foramina were concentrated in the middle third of the bone with the exception of tibia in which nutrient foramina were predominantly observed in its proximal third. Nutrient foramina were mostly located on the posterior surface of the shaft of bones of lower limb. The direction of nutrient foramina followed the growing end theory, with variations in the direction observed in some fibulae. The results of the present study confirmed previous findings regarding the number and position of nutrient foramina in the long bones of the lower limbs and provided clinical information concerning the nutrient foramina which could be useful as reference for surgical procedures.
