Some anatomical considerations of joint fixation / William Mackenzie.

  • Mackenzie, William Colin, Sir, 1877-1938.
Date:
1912
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Some anatomical considerations of joint fixation / William Mackenzie. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    Reprinted from the ‘ ‘A ustralian Medical Journal16th March, iyi2. SOME ANATOMICAL C OF JOINT WILLIAM MACKENZIE, F.R.S. (Edin.). (Lecturer on Surgical and Applied University of Melbourne; Examiner in to the Universities of Melbourne and Adelaide.) The Significance of Fixation and Cure. The uses of joints in the animal economy are varied and associated mainly with 'the improvement of the active and passive mobility, and hence of the utility of the otherwise rigid limb, with the lessening of the risk of fractures, and the dissipation of jars. Correlative and commensurate with the increased mobility of a joint, we find a multiplication and specialisation of the muscles which act across it. Of the major joint functions—active and passive mo- bility and anti-concussion—active or muscular mo- bility is by far the most important. Hence we can say that morphologically and physiologically a joint is dominated by the muscles which act across it. When, therefore, we come to deal with the question of immobilisation of a limb, or part of a limb, for the purpose of conferring “perfect rest upon a damaged or diseased joint, the 'endeavour must be to effectively and accurately counteract the active and passive forces which tend to alter that disposi- tion of the component parts which 'has been selected by the surgeon as the most appropriate for securing ankylosis on the one hand, or improved or normal range of movements on the other. When we speak of perfect rest of a joint we refer of course to that position/ in which passive contact of damaged areas is reduced to a minimum by the proper disposition of the parts, and friction contact eliminated by fixation. Counter-action of the passive forces—largely gravitational—can be