Types of Calcaneal Articular Facets of the Talus in Korean

Lee, Ji Yong; Jung, Min Ho; Lee, Jin Suk; Choi, Byoung Young; Cho, Byung Pil

Abstract

Tali are one of the essential components for weight bearing and play an important role in the foot action. The three calcaneal articular facets of the talus are believed to have diverse morphological variations. However, so far, analysis of the articular facets has not been performed in Korean. In the present study, we classified calcaneal articular facets of the talus and measured several parameters of this bone in Korean adults. Seventy six dry tali (male, 47; female, 29; right, 38; left 38) obtained from forty six (male, 28; female, 18) Korean adult cadavers were used for the investigation. The average age of the cadavers was 64-year-old. Types of calcaneal articular facets of the talus were classified as follows: Type A, a type with three separated facets; Type B, types in which anterior and middle facets are connected, but distinguished by a ridge. Type B was subdivided into B1 (having a notch that separates the two facets partially) and B2 (without a definite notch, thus the two facets appear to be continuous smoothly); Type C, a type with combined anterior and middle facets. Type B was found to be the most common type (60.5%), and the incidence of its subtype B1 (28.9%) and B2 (31.6%) was similar to each other. Type C was noted in 30.3% of the cases, and type A was ranked the lowest (9.3%). Compared to the opposite gender, type C occurred more frequently in males, while type B1 was more prevalent in females. The length of the talus was somewhat longer in males (55.9 mm) than in females (52.8 mm). However, there was no difference between the two sexes in the width of the talus. We could confirm that morphology of calcaneal articular facets of the talus is different between males and females. Also, our results indicate that characteristics of the facets of Korean differ from those of other races. The characteristics of calcaneal articular facets of the talus disclosed by the present study may provide valuable information for the understanding of motor mechanics of the foot in Korean.