The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Vol 69, Issue 6 873-880, Copyright © 1987 by Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Inc
The anatomy and functional axes of the femur
Y Yoshioka, D Siu and TD Cooke
Linear and angular measurements were made on thirty-two cadaveric femora
with respect to the mechanical (functional) axes of the bone. The long axis
was defined as a line from the center of the femoral head to the
anterolateral attachment of the posterior cruciate ligament. The transverse
axis was defined as a line through the posterior cruciate ligament parallel
to the line connecting each epicondyle. The condylar width, the length of
each interepicondylar line, correlated well with depth, but the projections
of the condyles from the transverse plane revealed significant variations
from specimen to specimen. Considerable variation also was found between
femora in terms of angular dimensions (that is, the angle of anteversion
and the neck-shaft angle proximally, and the valgus angle of the femoral
shaft distally). Considerable interspecimen variation in the angles between
the transcondylar plane and the femoral center, in accord with the valgus
angle of the femoral shaft distally, was also noted. The mean transcondylar
valgus angle (described as the tangent of the condyles to the perpendicular
of the long axis) was 3.8 degrees. In contrast, little variation among
specimens was noted for the angle made by the shaft and the long axis.
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