Artificial hip joint socket

Abstract

A hip-joint socket having an outer shell ( ) with a central axis ( ) that is to be anchored in the hip bone. The outer shell is detachably mounted, in a geometrically locking manner, on a plastic intermediate shell ( ) exhibiting a hollow-spherical inner side ( ). The hip-joint socket also has a wear-resistant inner shell ( ) with a spherical outer side ( ) and a central axis ( ) that is designed to receive a joint ball of a femur shaft. The outer side ( ) of the inner shell ( ) can be undetachably mounted in a geometrically locking manner to rest against the inner side ( ) of the intermediate shell ( ) such that the two central axes ( ) coincide. Mutually engaging elements are present at the inner shell and intermediate shell ( resp. ) that consist, on one hand, of a prismatic salient ( ) configured at the vertex ( ) of the inner shell ( ) on the outer side ( ) and, on the other hand, of a prismatic recess ( ) configured at the vertex ( ) of the intermediate shell ( ) on the inner side ( ). The salient and recess reliably preclude the mutually contacting inner and intermediate shells ( resp. ) from rotating about their central axes ( ) and from canting relative to each other. The salient ( ) and the recess ( ) are configured in substantially congruent and symmetrical manner relative to the central axes. The hip-joint socket offers minimal design height subjected to optimally distributed resting forces.