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Arthritis: inflammation of joints due to infectious, metabolic, or constitutional causes

Arthroscopy: a minimally invasive surgical procedure involving visual examination of the interior of a joint with an arthroscope to diagnose or treat various conditions or injuries of a joint and especially to repair or remove damaged or diseased tissue or bone

Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL):  a cruciate ligament of each knee that attaches the front of the tibia with the back of the femur and functions especially to prevent hyperextension of the knee and is subject to injury especially by tearing
— called also ACL

Arthrogram: a radiograph of a joint made by arthrography.

Arthrography: the radiographic visualization of a joint (as the hip or shoulder) after the injection of a radiopaque substance.

Bursa: a small serous sac between a tendon and a bone.

Bursitis:  inflammation of a bursa (as of the shoulder or elbow)

Cartilage: elastic tissue that composes most of the skeleton of vertebrate embryos and except for a small number of structures (such as some joints, respiratory passages, and the external ear) is replaced by bone during ossification in the higher vertebrates

Computed Tomography Scan (Also called a CT or CAT scan): radiography in which a three-dimensional image of a body structure is constructed by computer from a series of plane cross-sectional images made along an axis
— called also computed axial tomography, computerized axial tomography, computerized tomography

Dislocation: displacement of one or more bones at a joint.

Femur: the proximal bone of the hind or lower limb that extends from the hip to the knee
— called also thighbone

Inflammation: a local response to cellular injury that is marked by capillary dilatation, leukocytic infiltration, redness, heat, and pain and that serves as a mechanism initiating the elimination of noxious agents and of damaged tissue.

Joint: the point of contact between elements of an animal skeleton with the parts that surround and support it.

Ligaments:  a tough fibrous band of tissue connecting the articular extremities of bones or supporting an organ in place.

Lateral Collateral Ligament (LCL): a ligament of the outer knee that connects the lateral epicondyle of the femur with the lateral side of the head of the fibula and that helps to stabilize the knee by preventing lateral dislocation
— called also fibular collateral ligament, LCL

Musculoskeletal System: the complex system that includes: bones, joints, ligaments, tendons, muscles, and nerves. of, relating to, or involving both musculature and skeleton.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI): a noninvasive diagnostic technique that produces computerized images of internal body tissues and is based on nuclear magnetic resonance of atoms within the body induced by the application of radio waves
— called also MRI

Medial Collateral Ligament (MCL): a ligament of the inner knee that connects medial parts of the femur and tibia and helps to stabilize the knee joint — called also MCL

Menisci: a crescent or crescent-shaped body.

Osteoarthritis: a common form of arthritis typically with onset during middle or old age that is characterized by progressive degenerative changes in the cartilage of one or more joints (as of the knees, hips, and hands) accompanied by thickening and overgrowth of adjacent bone and that is marked symptomatically chiefly by stiffness, swelling, pain, deformation of joints, and loss of range of motion —abbreviation OA

Osteoporosis: a condition that affects especially older women and is characterized by decrease in bone mass with decreased density and enlargement of bone spaces producing porosity and fragility.

Posterior Cruciate Ligament (PCL):  a cruciate ligament of each knee that attaches the back of the tibia with the front of the femur and functions especially to limit the backward motion of the tibia.

Prosthesis: an artificial device to replace or augment a missing or impaired part of the body.

Rheumatoid Arthritis: a usually chronic autoimmune disease that is characterized especially by pain, stiffness, inflammation, swelling, and sometimes destruction of joints —abbreviation RA.

Synovial Membrane: the dense connective-tissue membrane that secretes synovial fluid and that lines the ligamentous surfaces of joint capsules, tendon sheaths where free movement is necessary, and bursae.

Synovial Fluid: a transparent viscid lubricating fluid secreted by a membrane of an articulation, bursa, or tendon sheath.

Tendon: a tough cord or band of dense white fibrous connective tissue that unites a muscle with some other part (such as a bone) and transmits the force which the muscle exerts.

Tendonitis: inflammation of a tendon typically associated with acute injury and usually accompanied by pain and swelling,

Tibia: the inner and usually larger of the two bones of the vertebrate hind or lower limb between the knee and ankle.

Ultrasound:  the diagnostic or therapeutic use of ultrasound and especially a noninvasive technique involving the formation of a two-dimensional image used for the examination and measurement of internal body structures and the detection of bodily abnormalities
— called also sonography

X-ray: any of the electromagnetic radiations that have an extremely short wavelength of less than 100 angstroms and have the properties of penetrating various thicknesses of all solids, of producing secondary radiations by impinging on material bodies, and of acting on photographic films and plates as light does.

Hungarian physiologist Albert Szent-Györgyi once said, “Research is to see what everybody has seen, and to think what nobody else has thought.” At The Center For Advanced Orthopedics at Larkin, finding new answers to old questions is the cornerstone of our approach to research. Whether it’s determining the optimal timing between bilateral knee replacements, studying the correlation between patient-perceived outcomes and actual physical performance, or evaluating the relationship between self-perceived severity of illness and hospital costs, our high quality, high profile research program is helping our doctors and patients make more informed decisions regarding pre- and post-operative orthopedic care.

The patient population that composes the joint registry includes all patients who have been intervened surgically by our orthopedic surgeons. Patients are all interviewed by bilingual members of the research team in the pre-op clinic visit usually held two weeks prior to the scheduled date of surgery. If the patients are intervened on an emergency basis, the research team interviews the patients and tracks their stay. All of the patient information is kept in individual patient files and the information is entered into a database that is administered and managed by the research team.

The surgical procedures that are monitored as part of our study since August of 1992 are:

• Core Decompressions (Hip and Knee)

• Primary Total Joint Replacements (Hip and Knee)

• Revision Joint Replacements (Hip and Knee)

• Removals and Reimplantations

• Hemiarthroplasties

These are Web-based resources for hip and knee replacement patients and their families. The following links to Internet sites are compiled from a variety of sources that are not linked to The Center for Advanced Orthopedics at Larkin and do not constitute medical advice. The Center for Advanced Orthopedics at Larkin does not provide any warranties on the accuracy, timeliness or availability of these sites, which represent the individual opinions of the site owners and are not necessarily endorsed by The Center for Advanced Orthopedics at Larkin. The information is intended to help you become educated about your options and find support from other individuals facing total hip or knee replacement. People seeking specific medical advice or assistance should contact an orthopedic surgeon or other health care provider.

The Hip
MAKOplasty® robotic arm assisted Total Hip Replacement
The Hip National Osteonecrosis Foundation 

Implants
Wheeless’ Textbook: Total Hip Arthroplasty
Wheeless’ Textbook: Total Knee Arthroplasty

The Knee Society
The Knee Society

The Hip Society
The Hip Society

Arthritis Foundation 
Arthritis Foundation

General
National Osteonecrosis Foundation