XII. CONDITIONS INVOLVING THE LOWER PART OF THE BACK
General Considerations.
—A review of the literature of 1941 relating to conditions involving the lower part of the back reveals a sustained interest in lesions of the intervertebral disks and their relation to sciatica and pain in the lower part of the back. The clinical diagnosis is stressed by a larger number of writers, and a trend toward less frequent use of contrast mediums is reflected. Atypical cases of herniated disks call for visualization. Operative procedures are less radical in extent. The relation of fusion operation and disk removals is debated at length, although a trend to a combined operation is sensed in many of the articles. Spondylolisthesis and lumbosacral anomalies drop far behind disk lesions as subjects discussed in the writings of the past year.The question of contracted fasciae is either a closed book or is receding in importance