Fractures of the Posterior Column

Abstract

It was in 1959 that we identified, from the amorphous general diagnosis of central dislocations of the hip, the fractures of the posterior column; this was the earliest development of the column classification which we promoted. Other writers had recognised that there were some with special features. Thus KNIGHT and SMITH (1958) likened the left acetabulum, seen from the outer aspect, to a clock and described fracture lines disposed vertically and from two to six o’clock. These included fractures of the posterior column but they did not emphasise their individual character nor describe their radiological characteristics. Tanton (1916) reported an experimental fracture of the ischium, performed by Walther (1891), which corresponds to a pure fracture of the posterior column (Fig. 6.1).