The acetabular fossa is the rough, non-articular hollow in the centre and floor of the hip socket. It is surrounded on three sides by the horseshoe-shaped lunate (joint) surface and opens below into the acetabular notch. It contains a pad of fat (the pulvinar) covered by synovium and gives attachment to the ligament of the head of the femur.
| Articulations |
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| Landmarks |
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| Ossification | Lies at the junction of the ilium, ischium and pubis (triradiate cartilage), mostly formed by the ischium; the triradiate cartilage fuses at about 14-16 years. |
The acetabular fossa is the thinnest part of the socket floor, which explains why central fracture-dislocations push the femoral head through it and why its medial wall protrudes into the pelvis in protrusio acetabuli. In developmental dysplasia of the hip, the fossa may fill with an enlarged pulvinar and ligamentum teres that block reduction. During hip arthroscopy the fossa is inspected for ligamentum teres tears and loose bodies.
Abnormal deepening of the hip socket in which the floor of the acetabular fossa bulges into the pelvis, seen in rheumatoid arthritis, Paget disease and some connective tissue disorders.
Tear of the ligament attached in the acetabular fossa after hip dislocation or twisting injuries, causing deep groin pain and catching.
A fracture driving the femoral head through the thin floor of the socket, usually from a fall or side impact onto the greater trochanter.
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