Anthropometric study of bicipital groove and its clinical implication

Objective: Bicipital groove along with the transverse humeral ligament bridging it offers stability and smooth functioning of the tendon of long head of biceps brachii muscle and prevents its subluxation during multidirectional biomechanical movements of arms. Hence, various anatomical information of the bicipital groove is vital as deformities of the bicipital tendon and its synovial sheath have been associated with a variety of reasons of shoulder pain and disability. Therefore, an attempt is made in this study to determine the length, width, and depth of bicipital groove along with the transverse diameter, anterior-posterior diameter and length of the humerus. Materials and Methods: The study was carried out on 60 unpaired dry humeri (right = 33, left = 27). The length, depth and width of the bicipital groove were measured using the vernier caliper. Results: The mean length, width and depth of the bicipital groove in the present study were 7.41, 1.08 and 0.55 cm. The mean length, width and A-P diameter of the humerus in the present study were 30.4, 3.0 and 2.6 cm. In the present study, the mean length of the bicipital groove corresponded to 24.37% of the total length of humerus, the mean width was 36% of the total humeral width, and the mean depth was 21.1% of the total anteroposterior width of the humerus. There was no significant correlation between right and left side as P > 0.05. Conclusion: This study determined the morphometric parameters of the bicipital groove and will be important for anthropologists, orthopedic surgeons, and clinical anatomists.