Acetabular dysplasia in the rat induced by injury to the triradiate growth cartilage

An extraarticular lesion of the physeal component of the acetabular roof was performed by thermal cautery in young Wistar rats. Seventy-four animals were studied. The effects of the lesion on the pelvis, the hip joint, and the femur were analyzed during a 14-week period by radiographic, gross morphologic, morphometric, and histologic methods. Most hips developed dysplasia with a shallow and deformed acetabulum and a deformed and underdeveloped femoral head.