EVALUATION OF THE ANTERIOR CRUCIATE LIGAMENT RELATED DISTAL FEMUR AND PROXIMAL TIBIA ANATOMICAL STRUCTURES ON DRY ADULT BONES

Objectives: This study aims to determine the differences between the genders by measuring the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) related bony structures on femur and tibia which are belongs to same individuals. To best our knowledge, the bony structures related with the ACL of the femur and tibia have never been investigated combined on dry bones in the literature. Materials and Methods: The study included 219 bones [108 femurs (74 male/34 female) / 111 tibias (72 male/39 female)]. Femur bicondylar width (BCW), intercondylar notch width (NW), tibial width (TW), tibial eminence width (EW) measured with a manual caliper. Intercondylar notch width index (NWI), and tibial eminence width index (EWI) also calculated. Results: In this study, the BCW, NW, NWI parameters were determined to be 65.90±3.23, 20.91±2.39, 0.31±0.03 in females, and 75.08±3.96, 23.45±2.80, 0.30±0.03 mm in males, respectively. The TW, EW, EWI parameters were determined to be 66.05±5.83, 8.89±1.48, 0.13±0.02 in females and 75.74±4.29, 11.02±1.96, 0.14±0.02 mm in males, respectively. Conclusions: In studying the structures associated with the ACL, it was found that there are morphological differences between the genders, which is an anatomically unavoidable situation. Also, the femur and tibia structures are statistically significantly correlated, we believe it would be more accurate to look for answers to ACL injuries by studying the two bones together