Evaluation of the morphometric characteristics of the talus bone-variations and their clinical significance: a descriptive anatomical study

The talus is the most proximal bone of the ankle and supports the body's weight. Although its anatomical position and biomechanical role have been widely described, evidence regarding the morphometric characteristics of the talar articular facets is limited.

We aimed to classify the articular facets of the talus and perform morphometric analyses to provide data relevant to orthopedic surgery, rehabilitation, forensic medicine, kinesiology, and anthropometry.

In this descriptive anatomical study, a total of 50 dry taluses (29 left, 21 right) of unknown age and gender, acquired from the anatomy laboratories of the Yozgat Bozok and Erciyes universities, were examined. Joint types were classified according to the parameters of the Boyan classification as types A, B, or C, and 16 morphometric measurements were performed. Linear measurements were obtained using a digital caliper, and the angle between the collum tali and corpus tali was measured using a goniometer. Data were analyzed using GraphPad Prism 9; right-left comparisons were made using Student's t-test, with p < 0.05 considered significant.

Of the taluses, 82% were classified as Type B (B1, 30%; B2, 52%), 14% as Type A (A3, 8%), and 4% as Type C; no Type A4 talus was observed. The right-left differences in anterior-posterior length and transverse width parameters were not significant. However, the lateral articular facet height, caput tali width, talus height, and collum tali angle showed statistically significant differences (p < 0.05).

Right-left asymmetries and variations in the type of joint were identified in talus morphometry. Differences in the collum tali angle and joint morphology are important for surgical applications, prosthesis design, and biomechanical analyses. The findings support the anatomical variations described in the literature.