STUDY OF DEPTH OF ACETABULAR CAVITY OF HIP JOINT WITH ARTICULAR CARTILAGE IN DISSECTED CADAVERS IN HYDERABAD REGION

Abstract

Background: The hip joint was originally referred to as a ball and socket joint is now being 
described theoretically as a rotational conchoids 1. The work of Menschik 2also shows that 
hip joint is more of a conchoid than a ball and socket type. The articular surface on the 
femoral head is a spheroidal or slighty ovoid. The femoral head articulates with cup shaped 
acetabulum, its centre  lying  a little below the middle third of inguinal ligament. The 
articular surfaces are reciprocally curved but neither coextensive nor completely congruent. 
The present study was undertaken to note the average depth of the acetabulum in dissected 
cadaveric hip joints. This study is done with soft tissues in situ. 
Material and Methods: The present study was carried out on 50 cadavers, 40 male and 10 
female in the age group 30-70 years human cadavers from the department of Anatomy. With 
the soft tissue in situ and using Vernier calipers of 1/50 mm accuracy, average depth of the 
acetabulum  was measured.