Hip screening grade classifications

​

• ​Excellent: Superior conformation; there is a deep-seated ball (femoral head) that fits tightly into a well-formed socket (acetabulum) with minimal join space.

• Good: Slightly less than superior but a well-formed congruent hip joint is visualized. The ball fits well into the socket and good coverage is present.

• Fair: Minor irregularities; the hip joint is wider than a good hip. The ball slips slightly out of the socket. The socket may also appear slightly shallow.

• Borderline: Not clear. Usually more incongruence present than what occurs in a fair but there are not arthritic changes present that definitively diagnose the hip joint being dysplastic.

• Mild: Significant subluxation present where the ball is partially out of the socket causing an increased join space. The socket is usually shallow only partially covering the ball.

• Moderate: The ball is barely seated into a shallow socket. There are secondary arthritic bone changes usually along the femoral neck and head, acetabular rim changes and various degrees of trabecular bone pattern changes.

• Severe: Marked evidence that hip dysplasia exists. The ball is partly or completely out of a shallow socket. Significant arthritic bone changes along the femoral neck and head and acetabular rim changes.

​