title: The olecranon spur.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There is very little information for today's clinician on olecranon spurs. In addition, there is some ambiguity in the literature, with the terms "olecranon spur" and "olecranon osteophyte" sometimes being used interchangeably. This review presents the current knowledge about olecranon spur anatomy, pathophysiology, clinical presentation, diagnosis, treatment options and their outcomes, as well as clarification of the terms "spur" and "osteophyte".
  
  
  METHODS
  The PubMed and Google Scholar databases were searched using the terms "olecranon spur," "olecranon traction spur," and "olecranon osteophyte." The resulting articles were used to find other manuscripts pertaining to the subject.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Very few articles were found as a result of these search criteria and were limited to a few case reports and a study investigating the postoperative outcomes of spur removal. Confusion of the terms "olecranon spur" and "olecranon osteophyte" was noted in 6 of the manuscripts.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The mechanism of olecranon spur formation has not been confirmed but seems to be similar to that of spurs at other entheses. In addition, the current literature represents a small number of patients and selects only those who required surgical intervention. Three methods of spur resection have been published, and all have good outcomes with small patient numbers and limited follow-up.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA.
authors.forename: Danielle
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Reilly
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA. Electronic address: srinathkamineni@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Srinath
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kamineni
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D056740:Olecranon Process / Q000601:surgery*; D054850:Osteophyte / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*
keywords: Olecranon spur; enthesophytes; olecranon bursitis; olecranon osteophytes; olecranon traction spur; triceps tendonitis