Histopathologic Study in a Case of Perthes' Disease of Traumatic Origin

The clinical manifestations and etiology of Perthes' disease have been treated in a great number of articles in the English and foreign literature. There is still no agreement as to the etiology. Vascular disturbance of the upper epiphysis of the femur and inflammatory and metabolic changes have been discussed, besides the purely traumatic factor. It seems, however, that trauma as an etiologic factor is coming more and more into the foreground. The pathologico-anatomic features of this lesion have not aroused as much interest as the clinical picture, owing to the difficulty of obtaining material. There are only a few reports on human material, most of the pathologic work being based on experiments on animals. Therefore, it will be of interest to report a case in which there was a definite history of trauma with a lesion of the upper epiphysis of the femur which corresponded in its clinical, roentgenologic and