A ground breaking technique has visually shown the development of hips in fetuses for the very first time. Tissue from the hips of spontaneously aborted fetuses ranging from 8 weeks of gestation to full term were dyed and studied in both natural light and polarised light microscopy.

The results showed that 'there were considerable … differences between the anterior and posterior labral chondral complexes which were consistent throughout all ages of gestation'. This will add to understanding of this area to aid in diagnosis and treatment of conditions such as degenerative arthritis of the hip particularly in adolescence.

The authors call for further research using this method in order to fully understand 'the normal anatomy of this region … so that surgeons may correctly interpret their intra-operative findings'.

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Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery