A three-dimensional musculoskeletal database for the lower extremities

A three-dimensional musculoskeletal database of the lower extremities has been developed for use in human musculoskeletal models. The locations of idealized muscle attachments on the pelvis, both femurs, both tibias and fibulas, and both feet were accurately digitized for 52 dried skeletal specimens. The mean specimen heights were 177.5 cm (male) and 166.2 cm (female) and the mean specimen age at the time of death was 48.8 yr. Statistical accumulation and scaling techniques were used to generate highly representative normative models, which were divided into groups and tested for differences based on gender and race. From the test results, the pelvis was divided into a male model (RMS=8.6 mm), a black female model (RMS=7.0 mm) and a white female model (RMS=7.3 mm). The foot was separated into black (RMS=3.7 mm) and white models (RMS=3.6 mm). Single models were used for the femur (RMS=6.5 mm) and the tibia/fibula (RMS=3.7). Containing over 12 000 anatomical landmarks digitized from 52 dried skeletons, this study represents an improvement over previous databases by an order of magnitude.