"The best books are those whose readers believe they themselves could have written."
Blaise Pascal, French mathematician,
physicist and philosopher (1623-1662)
There is scarcely any subspecialty of clinical medicine in which we find such a bewildering array of measuring techniques and classification systems as in orthopedics. They are so numerous that every radiologist, orthopedist, or trauma surgeon cannot possibly keep all the methods and reference values "in their head." This problem, like the concept for this book, is not new.
When I began studying orthopedic radiology during my training at the University of Mu(..)nster, an important tool in our reading room was a ring binder stuffed with separate pages that had been copied from various text-books and journals. The pages, assembled in random order by my predecessors, covered important measurements and classifications that, while used with some frequency, were apparently difficult for the users to retain in their long-term memory. The ring binder and its contents, which had become tattered and unsightly over the years, was referred to by my colleagues and me simply as the "binder." We considered it an indispensible aid, guarded it jealously, and were constantly adding new pages and notes of our own.
Later, residents in orthopedic radiology training at the Technische Universita(..)t Mu(..)nchen compiled a very similar collection, though in digital form. While I never felt that it matched the charm of the old binder, the digital col-lection was surely more modern, better organized, more accessible, and definitely more sanitary than the original. Moreover, it was the direct precursor of this book.
While not exhaustive, this book presents a great va-riety of measuring techniques and classification systems drawn from all areas of musculoskeletal radiology (except for fractures, which would fill another book). The authors have tried to refer back to original publications when-ever possible in order to eliminate any inaccuracies that may have been introduced over time. Besides explaining measurement techniques and classification criteria, we have tried to note the actual, practical value of specific methods. Outmoded practices and systems were either excluded from this collection or were included with ap-propriate comments.
This book cannot replace a textbook. It is intended as a handy reference for everyday use that will provide students and instructors with an "external memory" for things that are difficult to remember and, in many cases, need not be committed to memory. Of course, it is not enough simply to measure angles and juggle classifica-tions. We suggest that you take the time saved by using this book, and spend it gaining a sound basic knowledge of orthopedic diagnosis or expanding the knowledge that you already have. There are many ways of doing this.
I hope that this book will serve its readers as effectively as the "binder" served me in its time. I plan to use it, anyway.
Munich, Germany
