Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics, also spelled orthopaedics, is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons use both surgical and nonsurgical means to treat musculoskeletal trauma, spine diseases, sports injuries, degenerative diseases, infections, tumors, and congenital disorders. Nicholas Andry coined the word in French as orthopédie, derived from the Ancient Greek words á½€ρθÏŒς orthos ("correct", "straight") and παιδίον paidion ("child"), and published Orthopedie (translated as Orthopædia: Or the Art of Correcting and Preventing Deformities in Children[1]) in 1741. The word was assimilated into English as orthopædics; the ligature æ was common in that era for ae in Greek- and Latin-based words. Though, as the name implies, the discipline was initially developed with attention to children, the correction of spinal and bone deformities in all stages of life eventually became the cornerstone of orthopedic practice.
