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Updated: Aug 19, 2026

Proximal Cadaveric Femur Preparation for Fracture Strength Testing and Quantitative CT-based Finite Element Analysis
Published on: March 11, 2017
Anatomical study of the proximal femur in the fetus
Jean-Luc Jouve1, Yann Glard, Emmanuel Garron
1Anthropology Department, UMRC 6578 CNRS-Université de la Mediterranée, Timone Faculty of Medicine, Marseille, France. jjouve@ap-hm.fr
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.
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