title: Calcaneal angle in Ugandans.
abstract: We investigated the calcaneal angle from 206 unilateral radiographs of the lateral aspect of the foot in Ugandans, comprising 114 males and 92 females, aged 20-40 years. The mean angle in males was 35.1 degrees with a standard deviation (SD) of 7.5 degrees and, in females, 37.6 degrees with SD 5.6 degrees. The range of the angle for both sexes together was 20-50 degrees with females having a significantly higher mean value than males (P < 0.01). There was also a significant difference in the angle between Ugandan and Nigerian men (P < 0.01) and between Ugandan and Nigerian women (P < 0.001). Our reported range was the widest so far documented in Africans. Our study reinforces the need to establish the normal range of the angle in a given population and also highlights the clinical importance of the angle to orthopedic surgeons managing calcaneal fractures in this part of the world.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda. pibbigbi@yahoo.com
authors.forename: P S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Igbigbi
authors.forename: A N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Mutesasira
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000883:Anthropology; D044383:Black People; D002111:Calcaneus / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009985:Orthopedics; D011859:Radiography; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D014454:Uganda