The anatomy of hallux valgus.

The morbid anatomy of hallux valgus was studied carefully in the nineteenth century, particularly by Volkmann (1856), Lane (1887), Payr (1894) and Heubach (1897), and has been reviewed by Simon (1918) and Hohmann (1925) with adequate references to the literature. Stein (1938), who gave the most extensive review in the English language, based his work on general considerations and on observations made at operation rather than on necropsy or dissecting room materials. His contribution was well documented and embodied in a consistent whole the knowledge of his day, and few structural details have been added since. But a leisurely examination of material specially chosen for the purpose might reasonably be expected to fill out the pathological picture and to allow the correction of some points not easily determined at operation or by radiography. Such has indeed proved to be the case, and the findings have further suggested that some change of emphasis in the normal anatomy of the forefoot might be necessary, following the lines of a preliminary survey already published by one of the present authors (Haines 1947).