1. Forty-five cases of zoster paralysis, not involving the cranial nerves, are detailed. These include eighteen cases not previously published. Of these eighteen patients, one-third were referred for an orthopaedic opinion.

2. Complete or almost full recovery occurred within a year in two-thirds of the patients. Permanent paralysis occurred in one-sixth of the patients studied.

3. Muscles that failed to recover were mainly or wholly supplied from single segments of the spinal cord; so the prognosis must be guarded in those cases in which such muscles are completely paralysed.

4. Various phenomena occurring in zoster paralysis are discussed.

1. Three cases of infantile pseudarthrosis of the tibia treated successfully by delayed autogenous by-pass graft are reported.

2. The delayed autogenous graft is stouter, stronger and more easily handled and has enhanced osteogenic properties than a graft transferred immediately.

3. The by-pass graft commends itself, firstly, because it does not disturb the pseudarthrosis, which in consequence helps the immobilisation of the graft; secondly, because it is well embedded in healthy bone above and below, well away from the abnormal bone; thirdly, because it lies under compression and, ideally, is vertically disposed between the knee and the ankle; and fourthly, because there is no devitalising stripping of periosteum or introduction of foreign bodies.

4. Support to the grafted leg is needed for at least five years, but only by a polythene splint after four to six months.

5. With early grafting the deformity straightens out and shortening is overcome, as there is early return to normal use of the limb.

6. Prolonged follow-up is called for lest the basic lesion in the tibia should extend.

7. Fibrous dysplasia and similar fibrous lesions of bone account for many cases of infantile pseudarthrosis of the tibia. Many of these lesions are congenital and subsequently lead to fracture.

8. Postponement of surgery should not be countenanced.

1. Haemophilic cysts are a rare but serious complication of bleeding ilito the musculo-skeletal system. Five cases are reported.

2. The cysts may arise from bleeding into muscle, under periosteum, or into bone.

3. In early cases conservative treatment by immobilisation and replacement therapy should produce resolution.

4. When alarming increase in size or progressive neurovascular compression occurs, excision of the cyst or amputation should be carried out to prevent the dangerous consequences of rupture, sinus formation or chronic infection.

1. The deep posterior muscles of the neck are innervated by the posterior branches of spinal nerves, which branch off immediately after the root emerges from the intervertebral foramen. Electromyographic examination of these muscles permits a differential diagnosis to be made between intraforaminal and extraforaminal brachial plexus lesions.

2. The earlier diagnosis and prognosis thus achieved permit definitive treatment, in particular suture of the torn nerve trunks in recent extraforaminal cases.

1. Two cases of recurrent post-traumatic dislocation of the hip are reported.

2. The literature is reviewed and the rarity of the condition is emphasised. Only twenty-two cases have been previously reported, eleven in adults and eleven in children.

3. The sequence of events leading to recurrent dislocation is not understood but the following important facts emerge. The initial incident could not be distinguished from that causing uncomplicated dislocations. There was a significant delay in reduction in a number of cases. Subsequent dislocations followed minor injury. A large defect in the posterior capsule with a large synovial-lined pouch or false joint was found at operation in both our cases. The ligamentum teres was not seen at operation. The surgeon was unable to redislocate the hips during the operation.

4. In both cases reported here treatment was by excision of the posterior pouch and repair of the capsular defect.

5. Based on the above facts some tentative deductions are made.

1. A total of 120 Moore's arthroplasties in 111 patients were reviewed one to nine years after operation.

2. There was striking reduction in the severity of pain in 105 out of the 120 hips reviewed. Range of movement was improved in most patients but the degree of independence was improved less often. The reasons for this are discussed.

3. We draw the following conclusions regarding the place of Moore's arthroplasty. Firstly, it was a natural step in the evolution towards total hip replacement, an operation which promises to give more complete relief of symptoms and which seems likely to replace Moore's arthroplasty as the treatment of choice in osteoarthritis of the hip in the elderly. Secondly, Moore's arthroplasty is still a rational procedure for the treatment of degeneration if the acetabulum is not involved—for instance, in idiopathic avascular necrosis of the femoral head. Thirdly, it is certainly a valuable operation for some cases of recent fracture of the femoral neck. Avascular necrosis of the femoral head after trifin nailing can be satisfactorily treated by Moore's arthroplasty, particularly in the early stages before the acetabulum becomes involved. Finally, Moore's arthroplasty gave many fairly elderly patients considerable relief of pain at a time when nothing better was available. Much of the relief afforded has proved to be lasting, but deterioration sometimes occurred with time. In the few patients whose deterioration amounted to failure a definite cause for the failure was found. In the majority the deterioration was slight, and it seems likely that the operation will last most of these elderly patients for the rest of their lives.

1. A simple technique of arthrodesis of the hip is described.

2. Two triflanged nails are driven across the joint. The joint is not opened. No bone graft and no extensive fixation is used.

3. Symptoms were relieved in 90 per cent of patients and bony union was achieved in 63 per cent. Backache after operation was not a problem.

4. The period of hospitalisation was short and rapid return to heavy work was common.

1. Five cases of pseudomalignant osseous tumour of soft tissue are reported.

2. Clinical and histological observations suggest that this lesion is a reactive condition initiated by an infection.

3. Tomography is helpful in demonstrating the characteristic peripheral ossification around non-ossified central regions of the lesion.

A study has been made of fifty-six patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis in whom sixty-nine wrists were fused. The purpose of the investigation was to evaluate to what extent the position of the fused wrist influenced the position of the fingers in the frontal plane. All sixty-nine wrists were followed up by radiographic examination controls, and thirty-seven of the wrists were also examined clinically. The mean period of observation after operation was seven years and ten months.

The findings support the so-called "zigzag" theory based on the concept of carpus-metacarpus acting as Landsmeer's intercalated bone in a bi-articular system.

When the wrists were fused in more than 5 degrees of radial deviation seventeen of twenty hands showed ulnar drift of the fingers on radiographic examination. Of the nine patients in this group examined clinically, all showed ulnar drift.

A strong tendency to correction of the finger position is seen when the hands are pressed against the cassette. For this reason the clinical examination, during which the finger deviation was examined with the metacarpo-phalangeal joints in 30 degrees of flexion regularly revealed an ulnar deviation of 5 degrees more than that shown by radiographic examination.

In eighteen wrists the fusion had been done in more than 5 degrees of ulnar deviation. Fourteen of these hands showed a resulting radial deviation of the fingers on radiographic examination.

In a group of thirty-one wrists fused in neutral position (0 degrees±5 degrees) only six hands showed more than 5 degrees of finger deviation to either side.

The condition of the metacarpo-phalangeal joints asjudged from radiographs did not seem to influence the deviation of the fingers either in direction or in degree. The direction of the deviation of the fingers was almost regularly the opposite to that of the fused wrist. Five hands showing no visible pathological changes in the metacarpo-phalangeal joints displayed finger drift.

1. A single case is presented in which the great toe was transferred in one stage to replace an amputated thumb : microvascular techniques were used to anastomose the appropriate vessels.

2. The operative and post-operative complications are described and the final successful result noted.

3. The place of the operation in the future of thumb replacement is briefly discussed.

I. Five cases of fracture and dislocation in the lower limb complicated by vascular injury are described and discussed.

2. Suspicion of arterial injury is an urgent indication for exploration. Conservative measures must not be undertaken without radiological evidence of an undamaged main limb artery.

3. The eventual outcome of arterial reconstruction cannot be forecast, but it is always worth while attempting unless the limb is obviously beyond hope of survival.

1. Intramedullary nailing in two-level tibial fractures provides the following advantages: it allows walking with full weight-bearing in an average time ofthree to four months; it decreases the rate of non-union ; it decreases the rate of malunion ; it should decrease the rate of infection in closed fractures when compared with other types of internal fixation, due to the technique of blind nailing without exposure of the fracture site.

2. Compound tibia! fractures treated by nailing are still often complicated by infection. Nevertheless, we have not been able to find studies in the literature based on series large enough to permit the conclusion that other methods could lower significantly the infection rate.

1. Double osteotomy was performed on 1 50 knees between 1961 and 1969. The first fifty-seven cases were assessed independently.

2. The operation of osteotomy of the upper end of the tibia and the lower end of the femur is described. it is emphasised that the osteotomy sites are close to the bone ends and well within the cancellous expansion.

3. The indications for the operation are pain and loss of function in a mobile arthritic knee joint.

4. Flexion of the knee is important during the operation to allow the popliteal artery to be moved away from bone. Arteriograms at necropsy show the danger of damaging the popliteal artery when the knee is extended.

5. The operation appears to be equally effective in osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. The proliferated synovium of the active rheumatoid knee regresses rapidly following operation.

6. The operation has resulted in relief of pain and increase in function in many knees which had no deformity. When a deformity did exist before operation recurrence of the deformity did not appear to influence the result.

7. The cause of relief of symptoms after osteotomy is not known, and it is suggested that answers to the following questions should be sought: Why are some arthritic knees painful and some not ? Why does physiotherapy relieve pain ? Why does osteotomy relieve pain? Why is double osteotomy followed by regression of synovial proliferation ? Why does osteotomy sometimes fail ? Would osteotomy of one bone (tibia or femur) be sufficient?

I. Five cases of dislocation of the head of the radius associated with fracture of the upper end of the ulna in children are reported. It is important that fractures of the upper end of the ulna, especially those with some varus deformity in children, should arouse suspicion of the possible co-existence of a dislocation of the head of the radius.

2. The association of the injury to the elbow with a fracture of the lower end of the radius and ulna in three of our cases indicates the necessity for keeping in mind the possibility of this combination.

3. Closed reduction seems to be the best method of treatment.

4. Our five cases were seen during a period ofonly three years. We therefore believe that this injury is not as unusual as appears from the literature.

Two cases of an unusual injury to the proximal end of the radius in children are reported illustrating a pitfall of closed manipulation. A review of the literature suggests that this injury is comparatively rare and is likely to be followed by permanent restriction of rotation of the forearm.

1. A family study of sixty-one children with infantile idiopathic scoliosis to determine the relationship of other developmental anomalies to the behaviour of the curve is reported.

2. Of the thirty-nine children with resolving curves only one had another defect.

3. Twelve out of twenty-two children with non-resolving curves had at least one other developmental anomaly.

4. The presence of such defects may indicate that the curve is likely to progress.

1. Four cases of facial paralysis from the incorrect use of Von Rosen or Barlow type splints are described.

2. Attention is drawn to the subcutaneous and therefore vulnerable position of the facial nerve in the newborn.

1. A case of total dislocation of the cuboid bone without fracture is described. This is an uncommon injury and to our knowledge has not previously been reported.

2. Its rarity is explained in the light of the structural anatomy and function of the foot.

3. A mechanism of injury is postulated and a method of reduction and fixation described.

1. A review of the literature on the normal variations in bone mass in a given population in relation to age, sex, nutritional and genetic background shows several lacunae in our knowledge. Consequently, the separation of milder degrees of osteoporosis is difficult and the definition of osteoporosis itself is uncertain.

2. This paper presents a necropsy study to determine variations in the bone mass that occur with age and sex in a normal Indian population in the Delhi area. Two hundred persons between nine months and seventy-six years of age who died by accident and with no evidence of chronic disease were studied.

3. The parameters of bone mass employed were : apparent bone density, ash per millilitre of bone, cortical thickness and visual grading of porosity of bone in macerated specimens. The first lumbar vertebra, the iliac crest, the fourth rib and the femoral shaft were the bones evaluated.

4. After an initial rise up to the third decade, the apparent bone density and ash per millilitre showed a progressive and significant decline with age in all the three trabecular bones: vertebra, iliac crest and rib. Although these values were in general lower in the females than in males at all ages, and the rate of decrease with age was faster in them than in males, it was only in the rib that a statistically significant difference between the sexes could be established with respect to decrease with age.

5. Decreases in apparent bone density and ash per millilitre of the vertebral bone with age were associated with an increase with age in the porosity as assessed by visual grading.

6. In the case of the femur no significant change was demonstrable with age in any of the parameters used in the present study.

7. From a comparison of the values for apparent density and ash per millilitre with grading of macerates and histological preparations, it is suggested that osteoporosis may be said to be present in this population if the apparent bone density is less than 020 and 046 in the vertebra and the iliac crest respectively or ifthe ash per millilitre is less than 0l2 in the vertebra.

8. The study has revealed that 44 per cent of persons studied in this sample over the age of fifty exhibit significant osteoporosis. It is considered possible that nutritional factors such as protein-calorie malnutrition may be responsible for this relatively high incidence.

1. This paper describes the macroscopic and microscopic changes that are seen in posterior intervertebral joints after anterior vertebral fusion.

2. We now have a reasonably clear view of the types of change seen under these circumstances. The type varies from case to case and in different parts of the same specimen. So far we have no clear idea of the sequence or the pattern that leads from the normal to complete fibrosis or osseous ankylosis.

3. Further experimental work is needed in order to build up a clear concept of the sequence of events and of their relative importance. To do this it will be necessary to immobilise joints for longer than before.

1. The routes by which adult human articular cartilage can receive its nutrition is still a subject of controversy.

2. Microscopic examination of normal adult human femoral heads has revealed vascular channels which penetrate the subchondral plate and calcified cartilage. These channels bring the medullary soft tissue into contact with the articular cartilage.

3. A fluorescent dye migration technique was used to show that the observed vascular channels are pathways for dye from the medullary cavity to the articular cartilage. It is suggested that these pathways could also be routes by which articular cartilage receives part of its nutrition.

4. The nutritional mechanism in the mature rabbit and adult human femoral heads cannot be compared because histological studies revealed differences in their subchondral structures.

1. The probable greatest bending moment applied to a plated or nailed fracture of the tibia during restricted weight-bearing is estimated to be, in men, up to about 79 Newton metres (58 poundsforce feet). The maximum twisting moment is estimated to be about 29 Newton metres (22 poundsforce feet).

2. Twenty-two human tibiae were loaded in three-point bending and broke at bending moments of from 57·9 to 294 Newton metres (42·7 to 216 poundsforce feet) if they had not previously been drilled; tibiae which had holes made through both cortices with a c. 3-millimetre (⅛-inch) drill broke at from 32·4 to 144 Newton metres (23·8 to 106 poundsforce feet). Tibiae loaded in torsion broke at twisting moments of from 27·5 to 892 Newton metres (20·2 to 65·8 poundsforce feet) when not drilled, 23·6 to 77·5 Newton metres (l7·3 to 57·1 poundsforce feet) when drilled.

3. When bent so as to open the fracture site, the 14-centimetre Stamm was the strongest of all the single plates tested (reaching its elastic limit at a bending moment of 17·6 Newton metres (13 poundsforce feet) and 5 degrees total angulation at 22·6 Newton metres (16·6 poundsforce feet)), while the Venable was the weakest (elastic limit 4·9 Newton metres (3·6 poundsforce feet) and 5 degrees at 7·9 Newton metres (5·8 poundsforce feet)). A 13-millimetre Küntscher nail reached its elastic limit at 42·2 Newton metres (31·1 poundsforce feet) and 5 degrees total angulation at 49 Newton metres (36 poundsforce feet).

4. In torsion the 15-centimetre Hicks was the strongest ofthe plates (elastic limit 27·5 Newton metres (20·2 poundsforce feet) and 5 degrees rotation at 16·7 Newton metres (l2·3 poundsforce feet)).

5. Küntscher nails in bones provided no dependable strength in torsion.

6. In both bending and torsion, a preparation of one Venable plate on each of the two anterior surfaces was stronger than any single plate, and was as strong as the weaker drilled tibiae.

7. The three currently available metallic materials (stainless steel, cobalt-chrome and titanium) have static mechanical properties so similar that the choice between them can be made on other grounds.

8. The highest load applied to a screw during bending tests was about half that needed to pull a screw out of even a thin-walled tibia.

9. Screws beyond four for one plate are mechanically redundant at the moment of implantation but may be necessary as an insurance against subsequent deterioration in strength.

10. Countersinks in plates are a source of significant weakness, and should preferably be as shallow as possible.

11. An unoccupied screw hole in the centre of a plate is a source of serious weakness.

12. Only the strongest implants tested were strong enough to withstand the bending or twisting moments to be expected in restricted weight-bearing. In two-plate preparations a danger is introduced by the fact that these moments are similar to those required to Ireak a drilled tibia.