ABSTRACT
Motor vehicle accidents are the primary cause of most acetabular fractures (2,3). The
type of fracture produced by the trauma is dependent on the direction of force and the
orientation of the femoral head in the acetabulum at the time of impact. The force
required to create an acetabular fracture can be applied at four sites: the greater trochan-
ter, the knee with the hip in the flexed position, the foot with the knee and hip in exten-
sion, and the posterior aspect of the pelvis (2). The rate of load application and the
muscular response at the time of injury play a role in determining the initial degree of
fracture displacement.
