Growth and Development of the Child's Hip

The child's hip begins in intrauterine development as a condensation of mesoderm in the lower limb bud that rapidly differentiates to resemble the adult hip by eight weeks of life. The developmental instructions are transmitted through complicated cell signaling pathways. From eight weeks of development to adolescence, further growth of the hip is focused on differentiation and the establishment of the adult arterial supply. The postnatal growth of the child's hip is a product of concurrent acetabular and proximal femoral growth from their corresponding growth plates. Absence of appropriate contact between acetabulum and proximal femur yields an incongruent joint. Multiple disease processes may be understood in light of this growth process, including Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease and developmental dysplasia of the hip.