Abstract des Autors

An anatomical database was constructed containing three-dimensional geometric representations of the structures comprising the lower extremity. The database was constructed by digitizing 100 high-resolution digital photographic images supplied from the National Library of Medicine's Visual Human Male (VHM) project. These images were taken of sequential transverse cross-sectional slices of the leg. Slices were located 1 cm apart between a location approximately 3 min below the superior aspect of the ilium and approximately 2 mm below the distal end of the fibula. Image Tool Software (v. 2.0) was used to manually digitize the perimeters of muscles, tendons, and bones of the pelvis, thigh, and shank from the right leg of the VHM. Additionally, the perimeter of the leg and the inner aspect of the superficial fat layer were digitized. The pelvis was digitized as a hemi-pelvis. Tissue perimeters were characterized using between 10 and 151 nodes within each slice; the number of nodes varied depending on the tissue's size. Transverse cross-sectional slice number, structure identification, node number, and the two-dimensional coordinates of each node were stored in a data file. The information contained in this file is unique and provides a database that researchers can use to investigate questions related to tissue anatomy and movement mechanics that cannot be considered using existing musculoskeletal data sets. Verf.-Referat