THE STUDY OF NUTRIENT FORAMINA IN HUMAN CLAVICLE

BACKGROUND The major blood supply to the long bones is through nutrient arteries, which enter the medullary cavity of bone through the nutrient foramina. Nutrient foramen is the opening present in the shaft of long bone. Blood vessels passes through this foramen and enter the medullary cavity of a bone for its nourishment and growth. The shaft of the clavicle usually presents one nutrient foramen for the passage of main nutrient artery. With respect to the blood supply to the clavicle, there could be nutrient artery to the primary centres of ossification and to the late secondary centre at the sternal end of the clavicle. The nutrient artery is derived from the suprascapular artery. Clavicular branch of acromiothoracic artery. Knowledge regarding the nutrient foramen is important for many surgical procedures. Vascularity of the bone is considered for the various options in the grafting. The endosteal and periosteal blood supply with good anastomosis is required for the ideal bone graft. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study comprises of 50 clavicles, out of which, 25 belong to right side and 25 left side. The bones were obtained from the osteology section of Department of Anatomy and Forensic Medicine, TOMCH and RC, Yadavanahalli, Bangalore. The number, location and direction of nutrient foramina were observed and compared with the studies done by previous workers. RESULTS Totally 62 nutrient foramina were observed in 50 bones. All are directed away from the growing end of the bone. 39 (56%) bones showed single foramina, 6 (24%) showed double foramina, 1 (8%) showed 3 foramina and 2 (8%) bones showed 4 foramina. 39 (79.5%) bones had the foramina on inferior surface and 21 (84%) were on posterior surface and 2 (4%) were on anterior surface. CONCLUSION In our study, all the bones obey the general rule that is the direction of nutrient foramina is away from the growing end. The data obtained are coinciding with the studies done by previous workers. Information about the nutrient foramina is of clinical importance especially in surgical procedures like microvascularised bone transplantation and bone graft