Morphological and Topographical Anatomy of the Nutrient Foramen on 176 Humeri and Current Literature Review

The nutrient foramen of the humerus (NFH) is an important anatomical structure as it transports the nutrient artery that feeds the humerus. Our goal was to investigate morphological and morphometric features of the NFH. In total, 176 (85 right, 91 left) dry adult human humeri were examined. We investigated the frequency, topographic position, and direction of NFHs. The distances of NFH to certain landmarks were also measured. Lastly, the foraminal index (FI) was determined. Humerus with one NFH and two NFHs were 151 (85.8%) and 22 (12.5%), respectively. NFHs were absent in 3 (1.7%) of humeri. All NFHs were downward. The mean shortest distances of the NFH to the most prominent point of the head of the humerus were found as 17.84+2.64 cm in the humerus with a single NFH and 17.32+2.76 cm in the humerus with a double NFH, respectively. The mean shortest distances of the NFH to the tip of the medial epicondyle were 11.39+1.89 cm in the humerus with a single NFH and 13.01+2.93 cm in the humerus with two NFHs. The overall average FI was 57%. With this study, the distances of NFHs to certain landmarks were documented separately for single NFHs and double NFHs. Moreover, NFHs are most densely located in the middle third. We believe that this data may be helpful to orthopedic surgeons in terms of pre- and intraoperative planning and reaching NFHs more easily.