Supratrochlear foramen of the humerus.

The presence of the supratrochlear foramen was studied in 150 dry adult humeri, of unknown sex from the Department of Anatomy, St John's Medical College, Bangalore: The dimensions of the foramen were measured. In bones where the foramen was absent, opacity or translucency of the septum was observed. A supratrochlear foramen was found in 28% of the total humerii. It was almost equal in number on both the sides (right, 27.9%; left, 27.8%). Most of the foramina were oval in shape, their transverse and vertical diameters being, on average, 6.92 mm and 4.64 mm, respectively. A translucent septum was seen in 66% of the bones, in 51.51% of right and in 48.48% of the left. Only nine bones had opaque septae (6%). The study was done on bones belonging to South Indians and the findings were compared with the data available on other races. The paper discusses the evolutionary aspects of the foramen in addition to its surgical and orthopedic significance.