The role of blood vessels within the ligamentum teres in Perthes' disease.

In order to examine the significance of the blood flow through the ligamentum teres in Perthes' disease, intraosseous venography was performed on 81 hips. During the initial stages of the disease, the FCV was visualized in 40% of the hips examined, decreasing to 15% during the reparative stage. Moreover, the size of the FCV tended to decrease as the disease progressed. In venograms obtained in the early stage, several abnormalities were found in the morphology and course of the vein. Based on these findings, it appears that the blood vessels within the ligamentum teres play a compensatory role in reestablishing blood flow to the femoral head following the pronounced disturbance in blood circulation that is characteristic of the initial stages of Perthes' disease.