Morphological variations of the femoral head-neck junction in historical skeletal material

Poirier's facet, Allen's fossa and femoral plague are the main morphological variations of the femoral head-neck junction. The study aimed to answer questions about the association between the shape of the proximal end of the femoral bone and acetabulum in bones with head-neck junction changes and the differences in shape and size between joints with the above changes and joints without ones.

The analyses were performed on the computed tomography scans (CTs) of the 52 sets of bones (femur and pelvic bone) from the Polish skeletal material dated to the 14th-19th centuries. Based on CTs, three-dimensional models of the femurs and pelvic bones were created and then analysed using linear measurements and a geometric morphometric approach. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was calculated to analyse differences in size; in turn, canonical variate analysis (CVA) was calculated to investigate changes in shape between bones with femoral-neck changes and bones without ones.

According to the CVA, there were no significant differences in shape between bones with Allen's fossa, femoral plaque, or Porier's facet and hip joints without any observable changes (p > 0.05). Bones with observable Allen's fossa, femoral plaque, Porier's facet and hip joints without changes showed similar variations in femoral head shape. The difference was in the femoral head height between bones femoral plaque and bones with Allen's fossa (p = 0.047, mean difference = 3.78 mm). Acetabula in the sets of bones without head-neck junction changes showed slightly lower shape variation than acetabulum in the sets of bones with changes. In joints with head-neck junction changes, a more indented antero-posterior part of the lunate surface and indented inferior edge along its entire length were observed.

Geometric morphometrics and measurements showed similarities in the shape of the joints with and without changes in head-neck junction region. This may indicate that morphological changes in the femoral head-neck junction do not significantly affect the morphology of the femur and acetabulum. However, understanding the role and efficiency of this influence needs further studies.