Reconstruction of femur length from markers of its proximal end.

Length of femur and stature are of forensic and anthropological significance. Bony markers such as the head and neck of the femur can be of use in determining the femoral length when only a fragment of the proximal femur is available. A total of 171 South Indian unpaired femora, devoid of gross pathology and grouped by genders and sides, were used to measure the neck-shaft angle, neck length, intertrochanteric apical axis length, maximum vertical diameter of the femur head, and maximum femur length. The data were statistically analyzed for regression. Length of femur significantly correlated with the other dimensions. Simple (linear) regression equations of the length of femur against the neck-shaft angle, neck length, intertrochanteric apical axis length, and maximum vertical diameter of the head have been derived. The equations seem to be robust and can be used for different populations.