Vascular anatomy and microcirculation of skeletal zones vulnerable to osteonecrosis: vascularization of the femoral head.

Bone, regardless of its type or location, is a highly vascular structure with unique features in its internal blood flow. Changes that occur in blood flow through bone have important implications in disease, and several attempts have been made to correlate vascular patterns with the clinical incidence of osteonecrosis. Examination of the arterial anatomy of bones that undergo osteonecrosis in other regions of the body has allowed identification of types of vascular interruptions that place particular bones at risk. Although the role of an impaired blood supply of the femoral head in the pathogenesis of osteonecrosis has not been clarified, several studies have found abnormal blood supply in patients with osteonecrosis.