Shenton line is an imaginary curved line drawn along the inferior border of the superior pubic ramus (superior border of the obturator foramen) and along the inferomedial border of the neck of femur. This line should be continuous and smooth1.
Interruption of the Shenton line can indicate (in the correct clinical scenario):
- developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) 1
- fractured neck of femur
- excessive external rotation of the normal hip can also disrupt the Shenton line, however, there is no displacement of the femoral head 3
History and etymology
The line was first described in 1902 by Edward Warren Hine Shenton (1872-1955), an English radiologist 2.