Patterns of talar articulating facets in adult human calcanei from North-East India and their clinical correlation

Calcaneus is the largest tarsal bone of the foot and forms the posterior prominence of the heel. The calcaneus articulates with the talus superiorly at the subtalar joint. The subtalar joint is responsible for the inversion and eversion. There are three facets over upper side of talocalcaneal joint: anterior talar facet, middle and posterior. There are considerable variations in the number and arrangement of these facets. A total of 100 dry adult human calcanei were obtained irrespective of age and sex and evaluated for the pattern of talar articulating facets and measurements were made with digital vernier calliper of 0.01 mm accuracy at anatomy laboratory of Sikkim Manipal Institute of Medical Sciences, Sikkim. The study revealed that type-A was 31%, type-B was 5%, type-C was 62% and type-D was 2%. In our study type-C was followed by type-A. These morphological variations on the superior surface of the sustentaculum tali may predispose people to joint instability, ligamentous laxity and the development of arthritic changes in the subtalar joint. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ajms.v5i4.9486 Asian Journal of Medical Sciences 2014 Vol.5(4); 89-93