title: Anatomical study of the proximal femur in the fetus.
abstract: Two angles effectively describe the upper femur geometry: The neck shaft angle (NSA) and anteversion (AV). AV and NSA decrease from birth until they reach their adult values, but little work has focused on in-utero life. Our aim was to determine if and how AV and NSA change through the fetal life. Eighty-seven femurs from 44 formalin preserved fetuses were sampled to achieve a biometry. Correlation tests and linear regression showed that AV was highly correlated with age: AV increases during the second half of gestation. No conclusion can be given concerning NSA. It is speculated that these changes may be caused by mechanical stresses.
authors.affiliation: Anthropology Department, UMRC 6578 CNRS-Université de la Mediterranée, Timone Faculty of Medicine, Marseille, France. jjouve@ap-hm.fr
authors.forename: Jean-Luc
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Jouve
authors.forename: Yann
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Glard
authors.forename: Emmanuel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Garron
authors.forename: Marie-Dominique
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Piercecchi
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Dutour
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tardieu
authors.forename: Gérard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bollini
mesh_terms: D001699:Biometry; D002102:Cadaver; D004210:Dissection; D004628:Embryonic Structures / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D005260:Female; D005270:Femur Head / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000196:embryology*; D047109:Fetal Development / Q000502:physiology; D005333:Fetus / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D006621:Hip Joint / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D015588:Observer Variation; D012016:Reference Values; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013997:Time Factors