[The identification process of the state of fractures by orthopedic surgeons before radiography]

Abstract

Fracture treatment requires a detailed understanding of the state and displacement of the fracture site. Before X-ray was discovered by Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen in 1895, it was almost impossible to know the location of the fracture fragments wrapped in skin and muscle. The early classical theories for this were mainly based on the medical theories of Hippocrates and Galen. The more clinical cases were accumulated, the more cases were inconsistent with the classical theories. Doctors either chose to stick to the classics for their diagnose or believed in their own judgment. The development of anatomy gradually became a means of examining fracture fragments. With the development of anatomy during and after the "Renaissance", doctors began to collect a large number of bone specimens and communicated this information to other doctors. Doctors discarded the strict adherence to early classical theories, and finally constructed a theoretical model to explain clinical questions with anatomical evidence.