Femur and Hip

Ancient Egyptian and Greek drawings depict persons with hip deformities ambulating with assistive crutches. The first available written description of a hip fracture was by the 16th-century French surgeon Ambroise Paré. In 1850, von Langenbeck was the first to attempt repair of a hip fracture with a nail for internal fixation. Later, Davis used ordinary wood screws in an attempt to aid the healing of femoral neck fractures. With the advent of radiography in the 19th century, the types of fractures and dislocations became easily identifiable, thus allowing discussion and investigation of management strategies, classification systems, and prognosis.