A Manual of Orthopaedic Terminology

Abstract

Medical terminology is by necessity complex. Understanding the “jargon” of medicine takes extensive years of education and enculturation. Orthopaedic terminology is perhaps the most difficult of all because of the breadth of disease and injury that affects the musculoskeletal system. Terms related to anatomy, pathology, physiology, genetic injury descriptors, and syndromes require an intimate knowledge of the broad field of orthopaedics. Individuals other than those well versed in the terminology need resources to answer their inquiries and investigations. Practitioners in need of a lexicon include researchers, physicians in fields other than orthopaedics, the legal profession, and the universe of patients. For 35 years, Nelson and Blauvelt have provided a wonderful resource to assist this population of consumers of orthopaedic information. They have periodically refined the manual to keep it up to date and comprehensive within the evolving universe of musculoskeletal medicine. This resource can guide individuals as they perform literature reviews, systematic reviews of that literature, meta-analyses, and other clinical investigations in the field of orthopaedics. This tool is straight-forward, easy to read, and comprehensive. It will continue to serve as the go-to reference for individuals needing to access orthopaedic