[Perthes' disease: a roentgenological clinic study (author's transl)]

Perthes' disease (a condition also known as Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease), or osteochondrosis of the head of the femur, has been repeatedly subdivided into several stages and subjected to classifications which are hardly satisfactory in practice. Catterall has presented a new group classification on the basis of untreated cases of Perthes' disease, which has been combined in the present paper with Somerville's subdivision into different stages. This subdivision into groups and stages was examined for feasibility and practical usefulness via 51 cases of Perthes' disease. It was found that both systems of grouping and classification sometimes required repeated correction in the course of the disease. Hence, this subdivision remains unsatisfactory, especially when therapeutic consequences are expected to be drawn. Cases for Perthes' disease treated by the authors are described and compared with the data given in medical literature.