Juvenile osteochondritis dissecans of the knee: etiology.

Of 73 patients in whom 122 lesions of osteochondritis dissecans of the knee developed, nearly half had multiple lesions and 30% were of short stature. Endogenous and exogenous traumas play a minor role in the etiology of this disorder. Over half of the children with a history of trauma had bilateral and symmetrical lesions. Constitutional factors, such as hereditary predisposition, endocrine dysfunction, collagen and epiphyseal abnormalities, are frequently associated with juvenile osteochondritis dissecans of the knee.