Previous studies have demonstrated numerous histologic and histochemical abnormalities in the involved growth plate of patients with slipped capital femoral epiphysis (SCFE). Whether these changes are primary or secondary with regard to the slip is unknown. We examined an uninvolved site of patients with SCFE and controls, the iliac crest growth plate, by histochemical means for general morphology, proteoglycans, glycoproteins, and collagen fibril orientation. No differences were noted between the two groups studied. This observation suggests that previously reported slipped capital femoral epiphyseal abnormalities may be a result of, rather than a cause of, the slip in this condition.