Slipped capital femoral epiphysis. Illustration of a frontal section through a child's hip joint, showing slipped capital femoral epiphysis (SCFE), one of four hip disorders that can affect babies and children. SCFE is an unusual disorder of the thigh bone (femur) when the ball at the head of the femur slips where it articulates with the hip bone. This leads to one leg being shorter than the other and the patient walks with a limp. The joint tissues include cartilage (pink), the synovial membrane (blue), and the joint capsule (red). For a set of four images illustrating childhood hip disorders, see C029/0661. For the individual images, see C029/0657-60.