Gender differences in the knees of Chinese population

The goal of this study was to characterize the geometry of the distal femur and proximal tibia in the Chinese population. Three-dimensional models of twenty female and twenty male knees were constructed using CT images. The morphologic measurements of the distal femur included mediolateral (ML) and anteroposterior dimension of medial and lateral condyles (MAP, LAP), femoral aspect ratio (ML/LAP), medial and lateral condylar width, intercondylar notch width, notch width index (NWI), and trochlear groove orientation. The sagittal profiles of the medial and lateral femoral condyles and tibial plateaus were also characterized. The results showed that the size of the distal femur of the females was significantly smaller than that of the males. Furthermore, when normalized by LAP, the females had a significantly narrower distal femur (ML), and a shorter MAP compared to the males. In the sagittal plane, the radius of the lateral distal circle of the femur was significantly smaller than that of the medial condyle in both genders. There were no significant gender differences in the proximal tibial geometry. The data of the present study may enable suitable modification of total knee prosthesis sizing/geometry for Asia-Pacific patients.