Morphometric study of depth of acetabulum

Background: Anatomy of the hip must be taken into account to study the anatomy of various surgical approaches. Reconstruction of the acetabulum in patients with significant acetabular bone deficiency remains a major challenge in revision total hip arthroplasty. Appropriate anatomic concepts for surgery to treat femoroacetabular impingement require a precise appreciation of the native acetabular anatomy. Since the acetabulum is not always of same shape, width or depth, joint congruences are frequent with minor anatomical variations in the shape of the acetabulum. Hence the present study was undertaken as controversies still exist on the importance of these variations and to prevent problems following surgical procedures such as acetabular reconstruction and femoroacetabular impingement.Methods: Material of the study consisted of 110 human hip bones (60 males and 50 females). Depth of Acetabulum (DA) was measured on these hip bones on both the sides. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) version 11 and Microsoft Excel 2007.Results: The mean depth of acetabulum in male was 26.89 mm and female was 25.31 mm. The mean depth of acetabulum on right side was 26.24 mm and left side was 26.11 mm. Depth of the acetabulum was greater in males as compared to females and the differences were statistically significant. Depth was greater on the right side as compared to the left side but the difference was statistically non-significant.Conclusions: Depth of the acetabulum was greater in males as compared to females.