The purpose of this article is to present an account of the evolution of the treatment of fractures of the neck of the femur, more specifically of those of the transcervical type.
In the exhaustive survey made toward this end I have tried to take up the various methods in chronologic order as much as possible. In a few exceptional cases, as in the discussion of the open treatment of these fractures, I have found it necessary to deviate from the general plan mentioned.
Of all the fractures with which the surgeon has had to deal, it is generally conceded that the one that has given him the most trouble and disappointment is the fracture of the hip. Until recently the best that he could expect to promise was bony union and a cure in about 1 out of 3 cases. While a similar state of affairs formerly obtained for