title: [Orthopedics and time].
abstract: We can see into the future because we stand on the shoulders of giants. Descartes thought that the human body functioned like clock-work, but orthopaedic surgeons today know better. Man's life expectancy has increased, but has quality of life kept pace? The right moment is only a short instant. To await and then grasp it is part of the art of orthopaedics. But to reduce time to the present moment is to annihilate it. Time is the all-important fourth dimension which allows for change and thus for life.
authors.affiliation: Medizinhistorisches Institut Universität Zürich.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rüttimann
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D009985:Orthopedics / Q000639:trends*; D010686:Philosophy, Medical; D013995:Time
vernacular_title: Die Orthopaädie und die Zeit.