"He was a collector of information not notoriety," was how
Leonard Goldner described Samuel L. Turek, the original author of this text.
The first edition, written entirely by Dr. Turek and published in 1959, was
prefaced, "This book was born of a desire to compile scientifically
accurate information relating to orthopaedic surgery and to formulate a method
by which these facts are readily accessible." The book achieved those
goals and Dr. Turek edited three subsequent editions, with the last being
published in 1984. The first edition had 906 pages in a single volume, while
the fourth edition contained 1797 pages in two volumes.
Stuart Weinstein and Joseph Buckwalter became coeditors in 1994, in time
for the fifth edition. They returned to Dr. Turek's original size and purpose
for that edition and have continued the tradition in the sixth edition. There
are thirty-five contributing authors in the sixth edition, including
orthopaedists, rheumatologists, pediatricians, internists, a physiatrist, a
general surgeon, and a kinesiologist. The twenty-one chapters are arranged in
three sections, with 20% of the text devoted to basic science and basic
knowledge of the musculoskeletal system, 30% devoted to general disorders of
the musculoskeletal system, and 50% devoted to regional disorders of the
musculoskeletal system. There are twenty-four tables and 502 illustrations;
all but twelve illustrations are black and white. Each chapter includes an
annotated bibliography, and there is a comprehensive and very useful
fifty-four-page index for the entire book.
The basic science chapter, by Buckwalter, is an excellent and concise
overview of the current state of the art. It has sufficient depth without
being overly technical or detailed. The same is true of the chapters on
tissue-healing, gait analysis, and the principles of fracture care. The
section on general disorders covers infections; neoplasias; and rheumatologic,
metabolic, and neuromuscular diseases. There is also a chapter on idiopathic
and heritable disorders. The eleven chapters in the regional disorders section
cover all anatomic sites as well as disorders affecting the pediatric hip, the
pediatric leg and knee, and the pediatric foot. Each section is thorough but
without excessive detail. The text concentrates on a description of the
disease and on the physical and radiologic findings. While treatment is
mentioned, there is little discussion of surgical technique or the management
of complications. For example, the segment on rotator cuff disease is more
than eleven pages long with fifteen illustrations but has less than one full
page dealing with treatment and less than half a page discussing the surgical
treatment of cuff pathology. The book, therefore, is not a
"how-to" reference manual.
The text fulfills the purpose originally intended by Dr. Turek. It is a
relatively inexpensive, comprehensive, single-volume resource for the
physician who needs a concise but not encyclopedic reference for the
musculoskeletal system and its diseases. The advanced medical student and
orthopaedic resident will find this an excellent initial textbook. It covers
all of the important topics and is well illustrated, although color
photographs of clinical conditions would have been preferable. There are
improvements from the fifth edition, although the changes are probably
insufficient to warrant purchasing the sixth edition if you already own the
fifth edition. Turek's Orthopaedics is a unique effort that should be
read by every orthopaedic resident. Rheumatologists and physiatrists will find
it an important addition to their libraries. The practicing orthopaedic
surgeon will find it a useful reference when confronting a musculoskeletal
condition with which he or she is unfamiliar.
Samuel L. Turek remains a mystery, with little known of his career. Prior
to his death in 1986, he wrote in the preface of the last edition that he
edited, "It is my sincere hope that this lifetime of continuing effort
to crystallize a mountainous and often contradictory accumulation of precepts
into logical concepts will help to raise the state of proficiency of both the
neophyte and the experienced orthopaedic surgeon. Perhaps this may also
engender a need to perpetuate this work so that we may always pride ourselves
that orthopaedic surgery represents the model for continuing self education.
This will be sufficient reward for my labors." Dr. Turek can rest in
peace, confident that he has achieved his goal and that his labors are ably
and successfully perpetuated by Drs. Weinstein and Buckwalter in the sixth
edition of Turek's Orthopaedics: Principles and Their
Application.