title: An anthropometric study of the radial head: implications in the design of a prosthesis.
abstract: The dimensions of the native radial head were measured in 28 cadaveric upper extremities and radiographs of the contralateral elbows of 40 patients who had received a radial head replacement. The mean difference between the maximum and minimum radial head diameters was 1.7 +/- 0.7 mm (range, 0.12-3.27 mm). This variability suggests that although the native radial head is not circular, it does not have a consistently elliptic shape. The native radial head also is variably offset from the axis of the neck (4.2 +/- 2.5 mm), suggesting that a radial head hemiarthroplasty that precisely replicates normal anatomy would be difficult to achieve. There was a poor correlation between the radial head diameter and the medullary canal of the radial neck, suggesting that a modular implant system should be considered.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Biophysics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Western Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: G J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: King
authors.forename: Z D
authors.initials: ZD
authors.lastname: Zarzour
authors.forename: S D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Patterson
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Johnson
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000886:Anthropometry; D004551:Elbow Joint / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D007595:Joint Prosthesis; D008875:Middle Aged; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D011859:Radiography; D011884:Radius / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging