Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Folia morphologica, cilt.82, ss.869-874, 2023 (SCI-Expanded)
Morphological evaluation and clinical significance of the supracondylar process
and supratrochlear foramen: an anatomic and radiological study
Z.K. Coşkun et al., Morphological evaluation and clinical significance of the
supracondylar process and supratrochlear foramen
Z.K. Coşkun1
, A. Erkaya2
, T. Kuçlu3
, T.V. Peker1
, F.N. Baran Aksakal3
1Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey
2Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Lokman Hekim University, Ankara,
Turkey
3Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey
Address for correspondence: Zafer Kutay Coşkun, PhD, Department of Anatomy, Gazi
University Faculty of Medicine, 06500 Besevler, Ankara, Turkey, tel: +90 532 467
8501, fax: +90 312 212 4647, e-mail: zcoskun@gazi.edu.tr
ABSTRACT
Background: In our literature review, we did not encounter any study examining the
supracondylar process (SP) and the supratrochlear foramen (STF) with a threedimensional (3D) reconstruction method. The present study aimed to evaluate SP and
STF morphologically by employing the 3D reconstruction method and emphasize their
clinical significance.
Materials and methods: The research was carried out on dried human humeri of
unknown sex and without pathological alterations. A total of 81 humeri (42 right, 39
left) were obtained from the Departments of Anatomy of Gazi University Faculty of
Medicine and Lokman Hekim University Faculty of Medicine. The morphometric
measurements of SP and STF were made with a digital vernier caliper. The computed
1
tomography (CT) images acquired for radiological evaluation were analyzed with the
3D reconstruction method.
Results: The narrower distal medullary canal widths of humeri with STF were found to
be statistically significant. No statistically significant difference was found between the
transverse diameters (TD), vertical diameters (VD), the distance of the medial edge to
the medial epicondyle (ME), and the distance of the lateral edge to the lateral
epicondyle (LE) of the supratrochlear foramen of the right and left humeri.
Conclusions: The supracondylar process is often evaluated by mistake as a pathological
condition of the bone, not as a normal anatomical variation. Knowing different shapes
and dimensions, e.g., the TD and VD distance in which STF emerges, can assist in
avoiding the misinterpretation of radiographs.
Key words: supracondylar process, supratrochlear foramen, 3D reconstruction