Robert Osgood

Biography

• Born on July 6, 1873 in Salem, Massachusetts
• 1899 – Doctorate in Medicine from Harvard Medical School
• 1900 – Roentgologist at Boston Children’s Hospital
• 1906 – Orthopedic Surgery Service at Carney Hospital in Boston
• Head of Orthopedic Surgery – Massachusetts General Hospital
• Died on October 2, 1956 in Boston, Massachusetts

Medical Eponyms

Osgood-Schlatter disease (1903)

Osgood–Schlatter disease (OSD) is an osteochondrosis or traction apophysitis of the tibial tubercle. OSD is common during the early adolescent growth spurt between 10 and 15 years of age, particularly in children who participate in sports that involve running and jumping. It is more common in males and may affect both knees.

Osgood wrote about bone changes on the tibial tubercle with a review of 10 patients in his time as a roentgenologist at Boston Children’s Hospital. “Lesions of the tibial tubercle occurring during adolescence” published in the Boston Medical and Surgical Journal.

It is possible, however, to have a partial separation of the tubercle and the interference with normal function be so slight that the condition is often unrecognized and the diagnosis made of a bursitis or a periostitis, or even a joint fringe (see fig 5, 6). The x-ray evidence of this is apparently indisputable and the clinical picture absolutely consistent with the true condition.

Osgood 1903

Major Publications

• Osgood RB. Lesions of the tibial tubercle occurring during adolescence. Boston Medical and Surgical Journal 1903; 148: 114-117
• Osgood RB, Calvé J. Certains types d’arthrite déformante et leur traitement. 1914
• Osgood RB. Orthopædic work in a war hospital. 1916
• Osgood RB. The evolution of orthopaedic surgery 1925
• Osgood RB, Allison N. Fundamentals of orthopaedic surgery in general medicine and surgery (Harvard lectures) 1931
• Osgood RB. Body mechanics: education and practice report of the Subcommittee on orthopedics and body mechanics. 1932

References

Biography

• Obituary. Robert B Osgood. Br Med J. 1956 Nov 10; 2(5001): 1120
• Osgood, Robert Bayley (1873 – 1956) Plarr’s lives of the Fellows
• Bibliography. Osgood, Robert B. WorldCat Identities

Eponymous terms

• Ladenhauf HN, Seitlinger G, Green DW. Osgood-Schlatter Disease: A 2020 Update of a Common Knee Condition in Children. Curr Opin Pediatr. 2020 Feb;32(1):107-112.

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