Sooner or later it was bound to happen: a book would be written to succeed Campbell's Operative Orthopedics (sixth edition, 1980, The CV Mosby Co) as the definitive work in the field of orthopedic surgical procedure. Now appears Surgery of theMusculoskeletal System, a 4,246-page magnum opus, published as a fourvolume set, which weighs in at 27 pounds. This tour-de-force of medical authorship is edited by C. McCollister Evarts (Professor and Chairman of Orthopedics, University of Rochester, NY), assisted by ten section editors and 160 contributors, whose names would, for the most part, be included in a worldwide roster of who's who in surgical orthopedics today.
The book features over 180 chapters, divided into 12 sections, which, after an introductory section (historical highlights, musculoskeletal examination, fat embolism, fracture healing, bone grafts, biomechanics, and compartment syndromes), cover the subject matter by anatomic site. Special sections are devoted to conditions not localized