Aseptic Necrosis of the Femoral Head Following Occlusion of the Medial Femoral Circumflex Artery —A Case Report—

Abstract

An atypical case is presented of avascular necrosis of the femoral head which had shown progressive concentric narrowing of the joint space prior to the appearance of rarefaction. Angiography revealed occlusion of the medial femoral circumflex artery. Histological investigation showed not only necrosis of the bone and bone marrow but also chondronecrosis. From these observations, we postulated that the ischemia of the capsule and the femoral head caused by arterial occlusion had led to the necrosis of both cartilage and bone.