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This book summarizes the experience gained by the Orthopedic Study Group for the Knee (OAK) of the Swiss Orthopedic Society in dealing with knee problems relating to deficiencies of the cruciate ligaments. The editors, R.P. Jakob and H.-U.Staubli, have collaborated with international authorities to produce this ex cellent work dealing with a great many aspects of knee surgery and especially the problems of the cruciate ligaments. For clarity, the book begins with definitions and explanations of basic biomechan ical terms. The chapters on Anatomy and Biomechanics present up-to-date scien tific information based on anatomic and biomechanical principles as they are ap plied in modern knee surgery. The second part of the book focuses on the OAK-sanctioned approach to knee documentation and evaluation, which is a valuable supplement to other knee evaluation schemes. The European Society for Knee Surgery (ESKA) and the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM) are currently at tempting to combine the advantages of the OAK system with an internationally valid evaluation scheme to create a standard evaluation and documentation sys tem that will be acceptable to all physicians.

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