Anatomy of the Naviculocuneiform Joint Complex

Area of Science:

• Orthopedic surgery
• Anatomy
• Biomechanics

Background:

• The naviculocuneiform (NC) joint is crucial for foot mechanics.
• Pathologies like navicular stress fractures and arthrodesis nonunions affect this joint.
• Accurate anatomical data is needed for surgical interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify the articular surfaces of the naviculocuneiform (NC) joint.
• To provide data for understanding navicular stress fractures and arthrodesis nonunions.
• To aid clinicians in surgical planning for the NC joint.

Main Methods:

• Dissection of 20 cadaver NC joints.
• Quantification of articular cartilage using digital imaging software.
• Statistical analysis of cartilage dimensions and facet ridge locations.

Main Results:

• Navicular cartilage covered 75.4% of the proximal joint surface.
• Mean navicular cartilage height was 18 mm.
• Significant variations in articular surface dimensions were observed.

Conclusions:

• The articular surfaces of the NC joint exhibit considerable variation.
• The central third of the navicular bone is located at the inter-facet ridge.
• This anatomical data is vital for surgical preparation in NC joint arthrodesis.