Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Gender difference exists in sagittal curvature of the distal femoral condyle morphology for osteoarthritic population

  • KNEE
  • Published:
Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy Aims and scope

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this study was to investigate gender-related differences in the sagittal curvature of the distal femoral condyle in the Korean osteoarthritic population

Methods

The sagittal curvatures of the distal femoral condyle of 1979 Korean patients (1680 female and 299 male) were evaluated using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). MRI scans were obtained before total knee arthroplasty (TKA) in consecutive patients with end-stage osteoarthritis. The sagittal curvature of the distal medial and lateral femoral condyles was characterized with respect to the anterior, distal, and posterior circles. The diameter of each circle was measured. This study included 1873 varus and 106 valgus knees.

Results

The anterior, distal, and posterior diameters were significantly greater in the male patients than in the female patients (P < 0.05). In the male patients, the lateral diameter was significantly greater than the medial diameter in the anterior and posterior circles (P < 0.05). However, in the female patients, the lateral diameter was significantly greater only in the anterior circle. In both genders, the medial diameter was significantly greater than the lateral diameter of the distal circle (P < 0.05). For both the varus and valgus knees, the lateral diameter was greater than the medial diameter in the anterior circle.

Conclusions

It has been concluded that the sagittal curvature of the femoral condyles in females is significantly different to their male counterparts. This study provides a reliable evaluation of the sagittal curvature of the femoral condyle in the Korean population. These gender-related differences in the sagittal curvature of the femoral condyle may require further investigation to determine surgical implications such as in TKA, and the existence of gender-related dimorphism in specific knee injuries and pathologies, such as ligament injuries and tibiofemoral problems.

Level of evidence

III.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Asseln M, Hanisch C, Schick F, Radermacher K (2018) Gender differences in knee morphology and the prospects for implant design in total knee replacement. Knee 25:545–558

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Biščević M, Hebibović M, Smrke D (2005) Variations of femoral condyle shape. Coll Antropol 29:409–414

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Blaha JD, Mancinelli CA, Simons WH (2002) Using the transepicondylar axis to define the sagittal morphology of the distal part of the femur. J Bone Joint Surg Am 84-A Suppl 2:48–55.

  4. Conley S, Rosenberg A, Crowninshield R (2007) The female knee: anatomic variations. JAAOS 15:S31–S36

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Freeman MA, Pinskerova V (2005) The movement of the normal tibio-femoral joint. J Biomech 38:197–208

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Greene KA (2007) Gender-specific design in total knee arthroplasty. J Arthroplasty 22:27–31

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Hoshino Y, Kuroda R, Nishizawa Y, Nakano N, Nagai K, Araki D et al (2018) Stress distribution is deviated around the aperture of the femoral tunnel in the anatomic anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc 26:1145–1151

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Howell SM, Howell SJ, Hull ML (2010) Assessment of the radii of the medial and lateral femoral condyles in varus and valgus knees with osteoarthritis. J Bone Joint Surg Am 92:98–104

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Kessler O, Durselen L, Banks S, Mannel H, Marin F (2007) Sagittal curvature of total knee replacements predicts in vivo kinematics. Clin Biomech (Bristol, Avon) 22:52–58

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Kettelkamp DB, Jacobs AW (1972) Tibiofemoral contact area–determination and implications. J Bone Joint Surg Am 54:349–356

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Koh YG, Nam JH, Chung HS, Kim HJ, Chun HJ, Kang KT (2018) Gender differences in morphology exist in posterior condylar offsets of the knee in Korean population. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc 27:1628–1634

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Koh YG, Nam JH, Chung HS, Lee HY, Kim HJ, Kim HJ et al (2019) Gender-related morphological differences in sulcus angle and condylar height for the femoral trochlea using magnetic resonance imaging. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00167-019-05423-4

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Krych AJ, Johnson NR, Mohan R, Dahm DL, Levy BA, Stuart MJ (2018) Partial meniscectomy provides no benefit for symptomatic degenerative medial meniscus posterior root tears. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc 26:1117–1122

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Lonner JH, Jasko JG, Thomas BS (2008) Anthropomorphic differences between the distal femora of men and women. Clin Orthop Relat Res 466:2724–2729

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Mahfouz MR, Merkl BC, Fatah EE, Booth R Jr, Argenson JN (2007) Automatic methods for characterization of sexual dimorphism of adult femora: distal femur. Comput Methods Biomech Biomed Engin 10:447–456

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Malek IA, Moorehead JD, Abiddin Z, Montgomery SC (2009) The correlation between femoral condyle radii and subject height. Clin Anat 22:517–522

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Matsuda S, Miura H, Nagamine R, Mawatari T, Tokunaga M, Nabeyama R et al (2004) Anatomical analysis of the femoral condyle in normal and osteoarthritic knees. J Orthop Res 22:104–109

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Merchant AC, Arendt EA, Dye SF, Fredericson M, Grelsamer RP, Leadbetter WB et al (2008) The female knee: anatomic variations and the female-specific total knee design. Clin Orthop Relat Res 466:3059–3065

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Minami T, Muneta T, Sekiya I, Watanabe T, Mochizuki T, Horie M et al (2018) Lateral meniscus posterior root tear contributes to anterolateral rotational instability and meniscus extrusion in anterior cruciate ligament-injured patients. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc 26:1174–1181

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Monk AP, Choji K, O'Connor JJ, Goodfellow JW, Murray DW (2014) The shape of the distal femur: a geometrical study using MRI. Bone Joint J 96-b:1623–1630

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Nunley RM, Ellison BS, Zhu J, Ruh EL, Howell SM, Barrack RL (2012) Do patient-specific guides improve coronal alignment in total knee arthroplasty? Clin Orthop Relat Res 470:895–902

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Nuño N, Ahmed A (2003) Three-dimensional morphometry of the femoral condyles. Clin Biomech 18:924–932

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Rostlund T, Carlsson L, Albrektsson B, Albrektsson T (1989) Morphometrical studies of human femoral condyles. J Biomed Eng 11:442–448

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Siebold R, Axe J, Irrgang JJ, Li K, Tashman S, Fu FH (2010) A computerized analysis of femoral condyle radii in ACL intact and contralateral ACL reconstructed knees using 3D CT. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc 18:26–31

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Siston RA, Patel JJ, Goodman SB, Delp SL, Giori NJ (2005) The variability of femoral rotational alignment in total knee arthroplasty. J Bone Joint Surg Am 87:2276–2280

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Siu D, Rudan J, Wevers HW, Griffiths P (1996) Femoral articular shape and geometry. A three-dimensional computerized analysis of the knee. J Arthroplasty 11:166–173

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Wang J, Yue B, Wang Y, Yan M, Zeng Y (2012) The 3D analysis of the sagittal curvature of the femoral trochlea in the Chinese population. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc 20:957–963

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Yue B, Varadarajan KM, Ai S, Tang T, Rubash HE, Li G (2011) Gender differences in the knees of Chinese population. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc 19:80–88

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Author notes

  1. Yong-Gon Koh and Ji-Hoon Nam contributed equally to this work and should be considered co-first authors.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Joint Reconstruction Center, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Yonsei Sarang Hospital, 10 Hyoryeong-ro, Seocho-gu, Seoul, 06698, Republic of Korea

    Yong-Gon Koh & Hyun-Seok Chung

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Yonsei University, 50 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, 03722, Republic of Korea

    Ji-Hoon Nam & Kyoung-Tak Kang

  3. Department of Sport and Healthy Aging, Korea National Sport University, 1239 Yangjaedaero, Songpa-gu, Seoul, 05541, Republic of Korea

    Hyo-Jeong Kim

  4. Department of Mechanical and Control Engineering, The Cyber University of Korea, 106 Bukchon-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, 03051, Republic of Korea

    Changhyun Baek

Authors
  1. Yong-Gon Koh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ji-Hoon Nam
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Hyun-Seok Chung
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Hyo-Jeong Kim
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Changhyun Baek
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Kyoung-Tak Kang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kyoung-Tak Kang.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Funding

No funding has been received for this study.

Ethical approval

Ethical approval was obtained by the institutional review board at the Yonsei Sarang Hostpital.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Koh, YG., Nam, JH., Chung, HS. et al. Gender difference exists in sagittal curvature of the distal femoral condyle morphology for osteoarthritic population. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc 28, 3740–3746 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00167-019-05769-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00167-019-05769-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation