Geometry of the femoral condyles in dogs

Abstract

The stifle joint is one of the most important joints in dogs from the orthopaedic point of view. The aim of this study was to document the morphometric values of femoral condyles, given the close relationship between the shape and function of an anatomic structure. The left femora of 16 mid-sized dogs were used, and diameter and nine radii as well as cranial and caudal bow lengths from each condyle were measured. The photographs were taken of the distal femora from both sides. All measurements were obtained from these images by using software. Additionally, the rotation angle was calculated from the intercondylar distance and the difference between lateral and medial bow lengths. In addition to the rotation angle, the difference of diameter and nine radii between the lateral and medial condyles was determined. All radii except getting at 90° were significantly different between the medial and lateral condyles. The greatest values were determined in the caudal part of the medial condyle. This results the smaller contact area and a greater pressure on the underlying surface, and therefore the meniscus and articular cartilage of the caudal part of the medial side suggests the possibility of a risk of injury as the stifle joint flexes. The mean rotational angle of the femur was also calculated to be 2.18° laterally and 1.02° medially in the caudal and cranial parts of condyles, respectively. The result of this study showed that the lateral and medial condyles had different shapes in canine femur.

Precision of a Novel Computed Tomographic Method for Quantification of Femoral Varus in Dogs and an Assessment of the Effect of Femoral Malpositioning

“…In femora exhibiting varus the proximal diaphysis is medially offset from the condyles in the frontal plane; as foreshortening occurs the angular relationship of these portions of the bone therefore alters, modifying the PAA, and increasing measured FVA. A recent study quantified variations in the diameters of the medial and lateral femoral condyles, which would be expected to result in decreased measured FVA as femoral caudal inclination increases because of modification of the TCA. This effect is subtle, but may explain the weak inverse correlation between inclination and measured FVA for the femur with true FVA of ‐0.4°, as well as the absence of measured FVA increase for the femur with true FVA of 3.8°.…”

Quantifying meniscal kinematics in dogs

“…The large magnitude of meniscal translation measured in our study may depend on the roll‐back of the femur, which may be more pronounced in dogs than in people because of the geometry of the tibial plateau. Dogs have more convex and posteriorly sloped tibial condylar articular surfaces than humans, and very different radii of curvature between lateral and medial compartments on the tibia and femur . Posterior translation of the femoral condyles with flexion is influenced by the shapes of the femoral and tibial condyles .…”

Femoral Condyle Curvature is Correlated with Knee Walking Kinematics in Ungulates

“…Lovejoy et al () state that chimpanzee femoral condyles are circular; however, Sylvester and Pfisterer () demonstrate this is not the case for the lateral femoral condyle. Freeman () states that the condyles of all terrestrial quadrupeds are circular, but Ocal et al () show that this is not true of dogs. A perfectly circular femoral condyle would have manifested as a constant radius of curvature on the curvature gradient plots.…”