An anatomical and osteometric study of the femoral sulcus angle in adult Malawians.

Background: Femoral sulcus angle is particularly important in clinical evaluation of patellofemoral joint. Individuals show considerable differences in asymmetrical dimensions of the femur.

Objectives: To determine the size of femoral sulcus angles in adult black Malawians using the skeletal collection in the department of Anatomy, College of Medicine and assess their gender differences; to compare femoral sulcus angles of Malawians with other ethnic groups.

The sub-pubic angle in adult indigenous Malawian subjects.

Background: A number of parameters are used to assess the pelvis for clinical, physical and forensic anthropological reasons. When it is adequately assessed within any population group, the pelvis displays wide variations. Although the sub-pubic angle is one of the three forensically important angles of the pelvic outlet, literature is scanty or lacking on East and Central Africans, and no published report is available on indigenous Malawian subjects.

Palmar and digital dermatoglyphic traits of Kenyan and Tanzanian subjects.

Unlabelled: Dermatoglyphic traits, along with other morphological, molecular and biochemical markers have traditionally been used in biological anthropology to explore affinities and differences among human groups.

Methodology: We carried out a cross-sectional study of healthy able-bodied volunteers of indigenous Kenyan and Tanzanian subjects to establish their palmar and digital dermatoglyphic traits, by counting and classifying their ridge pattern configurations of arches, loops, whorls and ridges based on standard techniques.

Results: Ulnar loops were the most prevalent digital ridge patterns and arches were the least in our samples with significant sex differences exhibited in arches, ulnar loops and whorls (P < 0.

Arch index as a predictor of pes planus: a comparative study of indigenous Kenyans and Tanzanians.

We determined the arch index of able-bodied indigenous Kenyan and Tanzanian individuals free of foot pain by using their dynamic footprints to classify the foot arch type and determine the prevalence of pes planus according to a previously described method. Males had a significantly higher arch index than females in both groups, and the prevalence of pes planus in Kenyans was 432 per 1,000 population, the highest ever documented and twice as high as that in Tanzanians (203 per 1,000 population). The arch index is useful in determining the prevalence of pes planus and possibly predicting pathologic foot conditions, and it may serve as an early warning sign of structural and functional defects of the foot in a given population.

Geometric measurements of the acetabulum in adult Malawians: radiographic study.

Objectives: To determine the acetabular depth as well as acetabular and centre edge angles; to assess the influence of sex, if any, in these geometric measurements; and to determine the prevalence of hip dysplasia in adult Malawians.

Design: A retrospective study.

Setting: Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH) and Blantyre Adventist Hospital (BAH).