Fractured Femur, Posterior View

Description

Posterior anatomy of the male hip and proximal femur is presented with the femoral head displaced from the acetabulum, exposing a fracture line through the femoral neck near the head–neck junction. The acetabular rim and socket remain intact superiorly and laterally within the hemipelvis, while the proximal femoral shaft continues inferiorly with the greater trochanter positioned lateral to the neck. Along the posterior aspect of the proximal femur, the intertrochanteric crest and adjacent posterior surface provide orientation for the fracture’s relationship to the capsule and extracapsular bone. The break is the focus. Femoral neck fractures are common hip fractures, and this posterior perspective helps distinguish an intracapsular pattern, which threatens the retinacular vessels from the medial circumflex femoral artery running along the posterosuperior neck. That vascular detail matters when you are teaching why displaced subcapital fractures carry a higher risk of femoral head osteonecrosis and nonunion, driving decision-making toward arthroplasty rather than fixation in many older patients. For surgeons, the posterior view also aligns with the posterolateral approach to the hip, where protecting the short external rotators and the nearby sciatic nerve is part of safe exposure. Orthopaedic teaching files, trauma lectures, and anatomy labs use this type of fracture-focused hip joint illustration to anchor discussions of Garden and Pauwels classifications, capsular attachments, and blood supply at the head–neck junction. It also fits radiology and emergency medicine materials when paired with AP pelvis and lateral hip imaging to correlate displacement with expected posterior anatomy. Anatomical accuracy verified by SciePro's Medical Advisory Board.