Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research®

, Volume 468, Issue 3, pp 782–788 | Cite as

The Geometry of the Trochlear Groove

  • Farhad Iranpour
  • Azhar M. Merican
  • Wael Dandachli
  • Andrew A. Amis
  • Justin P. Cobb
Clinical Research
First Online:
Received:
Accepted:

Abstract

Background

In the natural and prosthetic knees the position, shape, and orientation of the trochlea groove are three of the key determinants of function and dysfunction, yet the rules governing these three features remain elusive.

Questions/Purpose

The aim was to define the three-dimensional geometry of the femoral trochlea and its relation to the tibiofemoral joint in terms of angles and distances.

Methods

Forty CT scans of femurs of healthy patients were analyzed using custom-designed imaging software. After aligning the femur using various axes, the locations and orientations of the groove and the trochlear axis were examined in relation to the conventional axes of the femur.

Results

The trochlear groove was circular and positioned laterally in relation to the mechanical, anatomic, and transcondylar axes of the femur; it was not aligned with any of these axes. We have defined the trochlear axis as a line joining the centers of two spheres fitted to the trochlear surfaces lateral and medial to the trochlear groove. When viewed after aligning the femur to this new axis, the trochlear groove appeared more linear than when other methods of orientation were used.

Conclusions

Our study shows the importance of reliable femoral orientation when reporting the shape of the trochlear groove.

Keywords

Femoral Condyle Distal Femur Normal Knee Trochlear Groove Tibiofemoral Joint 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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Notes

Acknowledgments

We thank Dr Robin Richards for technical support and designing the 3-D image analysis software that was used in this study.

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Copyright information

© The Association of Bone and Joint Surgeons® 2009

Authors and Affiliations

  • Farhad Iranpour
    • 1
    • 4
  • Azhar M. Merican
    • 1
    • 2
  • Wael Dandachli
    • 1
  • Andrew A. Amis
    • 1
    • 3
  • Justin P. Cobb
    • 1
  1. 1.Department of Musculoskeletal SurgeryImperial College London, Charing Cross HospitalLondonUK
  2. 2.University of Malaya Medical CentreKuala LumpurMalaysia
  3. 3.Mechanical Engineering DepartmentImperial College LondonLondonUK
  4. 4.Division of Surgery, Oncology, Reproductive Biology and AnaestheticsImperial College London, 7th Floor, Charing Cross HospitalLondonUK

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