Vascular supply of the femoral head in sheep—Implications for the ovine femoroacetabular impingement model

Sheep hips have a natural non‐spherical head similar to a cam‐type deformity in human beings. By performing an intertrochanteric varus osteotomy, cam‐type femoroacetabular impingement can be induced experimentally. In sheep, the aspherical portion is located superiorly—exactly matching the region where the superior retinacular vessels enter the femoral head–neck junction in human beings. In order to fully exploit the potential of this experimental FAI model, a safe osteochondroplasty of the superior asphericity would need to be done without the risk of avascular necrosis. The aim of this study was to describe the vascular anatomy of the femoral head in sheep from the aorta to the retinacular vessels in order to perform safe femoral osteochondroplasty of the superior femoral asphericity in sheep. Sixty‐two ovine hips were analyzed using CT angiography (30 hips), post mortem intravascular latex injection (6 hips), vascular corrosion casting (6 hips), and analysis of the distribution of vascular foramina around the femoral head–neck junction in macerated ovine femora (20 hips). The ovine femoral head receives its blood supply from anterior retinacular arteries from the lateral femoral circumflex artery, and from posterior retinacular arteries from the medial femoral circumflex artery. The superior aspherical portion is free of vessels. Detailed knowledge about vascular anatomy of sheep hips is of clinical significance since it allows to perform osteochondroplasty of the superior aspherical portion in the experimental ovine FAI model safely without the risk of osteonecrosis. © 2018 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 36:2340–2348, 2018.