Morphometric and topographic evaluations of principal nutrient foramina of the ilium.

Background: Nutrient arteries pass through the nutrient foramina and reach the spongious part or medullary cavity of the bones. The arterial blood supply and nutrient foramina of the ilium have not been well described in the literature. The aim of this study is to define the numbers and localizations of nutrient foramina of the ilium on the internal surface in accordance with the pelvic brim, as well as the external surface, and furthermore the distances between these foramina with certain anatomical landmarks.

Methods: This study was performed on 57 dry hip bones. The foramina on the external and internal surfaces of the ilium were evaluated separately. The external surface of the ilium was divided into 4 regions in accordance with the gluteal lines to determine the localizations of the nutrient foramina. The foramina on the internal surface were evaluated according to whether they were above or below the pelvic brim. The diameters of the foramina and their nearest distances to certain anatomical landmarks were measured. Furthermore, the risk area of the region above the pelvic brim was determined.

Results: : The foramina that were found on the external surface of the ilium were distributed mainly between anterior and inferior gluteal lines (42 foramina-37.17%) and below the inferior gluteal line (57 foramina-50.44%). On the internal surface, 54 nutrient foramina were found above the pelvic brim and 81 were found below.

Discussion: The localizations and configurations of all nutrient foramina on the ilium were evaluated morphometrically for the first time.