Purpose. To reveal the characteristic criteria of different stages of primary and secondary coxarthrosis using ultrasonography method.

Material and method. An ultrasound examination of the hip joints was performed on a Hitachi machine (Japan). Patients with coxarthrosis (Stage I - III, n = 118) and a control group of healthy people (n = 60) were examined.

Results. Characteristic echocritical signs of idiopathic coxarthrosis at an early stage of the disease are a decrease in acoustic density and thickness of the subchondral plate of the femoral head in the most loaded areas. With the progression of the pathological process (stage II-III), destructive changes in the region of the subchondral plate are accompanied by structural disorders in the synovial environment of the joint. A specific feature of coxarthrosis that develops after the injury of the acetabulum is the presence of a bone defect in the acetabular region, the discongruence of the articular surfaces, the progressive development of foci of destruction in the subchondral plate of the femoral head. The development of coxarthrosis after injury of the femoral neck occurs, as a rule, against the background of the already thickened joint capsule, which contributes to the progression of the destructive process of the femoral head. Obtained by ultrasound data are combined with histological studies D.A. Davydov. with co-authors [6], in which it is shown that the bone tissue of the femoral head and its articular surface have several features depending on the nosological form of coxarthrosis. Using the method of ultrasound, both general and specific structural manifestations of coxarthrosis in various nosological groups were identified.

Conclusion. Diagnostic criteria for determining I-III stages of idiopathic and post-traumatic coxarthrosis according to ultrasound data are: sphericity of the femoral head; congruence and structure of the articular surfaces of the femoral head and acetabulum; ultrasound penetration depth; condition of the synovial environment of the joint; in patients with posttraumatic coxarthrosis - the integrity of the contours of the acetabulum and neck of the femur.