OMSB Orthopedic Surgery (OEORTHO) key terms

A five-type system describing fractures that involve the growth plate, based on which layers of physis and bone are crossed; types III to V carry higher risk of growth disturbance.

A bridge of bone forming across an injured growth plate that tethers growth and can produce angular deformity or limb shortening; central bars cause shortening, peripheral bars cause angulation.

Use of a flexible plate or staple across one side of a physis to slow that side selectively and correct angular deformity while the opposite side continues to grow.

The capacity of growing bone to correct angulation and displacement over time; greatest in young children and in deformities near the physis in the plane of joint motion.

A grading of open fractures by wound size, soft-tissue stripping, and vascular injury, used to guide antibiotic choice, debridement urgency, and fixation strategy.

Surgical removal of devitalized tissue and foreign material plus lavage of a wound; the cornerstone of open fracture and infection treatment, usually repeated until the wound is clean.

A staged strategy in severely injured or polytraumatized patients using temporary external fixation and physiologic resuscitation first, with definitive fixation deferred until the patient is stable.

Elevated pressure within a closed fascial compartment that compromises capillary perfusion and threatens muscle and nerve; diagnosed clinically, with pain on passive stretch and pain out of proportion.

Surgical release of fascial compartments to restore perfusion in compartment syndrome; all compartments of the involved segment must be opened through adequate skin and fascial incisions.

Bone infection, often bacterial, that may be acute hematogenous, contiguous, or implant-related; chronic disease involves necrotic sequestrum and requires debridement plus prolonged targeted antibiotics.

A structured community of bacteria adherent to a surface such as implants or dead bone, encased in a self-produced matrix that resists antibiotics and host defenses.

A fragment of dead infected bone separated from living bone, classically seen in chronic osteomyelitis; it acts as a nidus for persistent infection and usually must be removed.

Failure of a fracture to heal within the expected time with no further healing progress; may be hypertrophic (excess callus, unstable) or atrophic (poor biology), each managed differently.

Slower-than-expected healing of a fracture that has not yet reached the criteria for nonunion; management addresses stability, biology, infection, and mechanical environment.

Material placed to stimulate healing by osteogenesis, osteoinduction, or osteoconduction; autograft provides all three, while allograft and synthetic substitutes vary in these properties.

Circular external fixation using tensioned wires that exploits distraction osteogenesis to lengthen bone, correct deformity, and transport bone segments gradually.

Generation of new bone by gradually separating two bone ends after an osteotomy, allowing callus to form and mature under controlled tension.

Death of bone cells from interrupted blood supply, commonly affecting the femoral head, scaphoid, or talus; imaging shows sclerosis, cystic change, and eventual collapse.

Systems such as Ficat or ARCO that grade avascular necrosis by imaging findings, from normal radiographs with positive MRI through sclerosis, subchondral fracture, and joint collapse.

Degenerative joint disease with cartilage loss, subchondral sclerosis, osteophytes, and joint space narrowing, producing pain and stiffness that worsen with activity.

Surgical reconstruction or replacement of a joint surface, either by replacing the joint (total) or resurfacing part of it (hemiarthroplasty), to relieve pain and restore motion.

A fracture occurring near or around an orthopedic implant, often after low-energy trauma in osteoporotic bone; classified by location relative to the stem or component to guide fixation.

Reduced bone mass and disrupted microarchitecture that lowers bone strength and increases fracture risk, commonly assessed by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry T-score.

A fracture caused by a fall from standing height or less, or by minimal trauma, in bone weakened by osteoporosis; it marks increased future fracture risk.

Surgical cutting of bone to change alignment, length, or load distribution; used to correct deformity and offload arthritic compartments, especially around the knee and hip.

Healing of a fracture in an unacceptable position, causing deformity, limb length discrepancy, or altered joint mechanics that may require osteotomy or reconstruction.

A test measuring electrical conduction along motor and sensory nerves, used to localize and grade peripheral nerve injury such as carpal tunnel or ulnar neuropathy.

Recording of electrical activity in muscle with needle electrodes, used to distinguish nerve injury from muscle disease and to assess reinnervation over time.

Compression of the median nerve at the wrist causing nocturnal numbness, thenar weakness, and sensory loss in the median distribution; treated by splinting, injection, or release.

Fibroproliferative thickening of the palmar fascia producing cords and nodules that flex the fingers, most often the ring and small fingers; treatment ranges from injection to fasciectomy.

Lateral curvature of the spine with vertebral rotation, described by Cobb angle; adolescent idiopathic forms are common and braced or fused when severe and progressive.

The angle between the superior endplate of the upper end vertebra and the inferior endplate of the lower end vertebra, used to measure and monitor scoliosis severity.

Tear of the central ligament restricting tibial translation and rotation, often from noncontact pivoting; presents with instability, positive Lachman test, and hemarthrosis.

A knee examination maneuver applying anterior tibial translation with the knee slightly flexed; the most sensitive clinical test for anterior cruciate ligament integrity.

Rupture of the knee's fibrocartilaginous shock absorbers, causing joint-line pain, mechanical catching, or locking; peripheral tears may heal, while inner tears usually need resection or repair.

A spectrum of abnormal hip development ranging from shallow acetabulum to frank dislocation, screened by examination and ultrasound in infancy and treated with bracing or surgery.

A neonatal hip examination maneuver that abducts and lifts the femur to reduce a dislocated femoral head, felt as a clunk; it detects dislocated but reducible hips.

A dynamic infant brace holding the hips in flexion and abduction to keep a dysplastic hip reduced while allowing movement; first-line treatment in early infancy.