Physiologic and Pathologic Development of the Infantile and Adolescent Hip Joint: Descriptive and Functional Aspects

The basic law of mechanobiology states that the external form and internal architecture of the skeleton and joints follow the functional stimuli that act upon them. Radiographs and magnetic resonance imaging reflect the loading history of the growing child, enabling an experienced radiologist to analyze the clinical functioning of patients by interpreting imaging studies. Concerning the hip joint, the physes of the coxal femoral end, the coxal femoral epiphysis with its epiphyseal growth plate, as well as the apophysis of the greater trochanter with its trochanteric growth plate, are the essential organ structures subject to internal forces. They determine the definitive geometric shape of the proximal femur. Indirectly they influence the appearance of the acetabulum and the centration of the hip joint.