Professor Ricardo Galeazzi (1866 – 1952) was an Italian

orthopaedic surgeon Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics ( alternatively spelt orthopaedics), is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons use both surgical and nonsurgical means to treat musculoskeletal ...

born in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

, remembered for describing the

Galeazzi fracture The Galeazzi fracture is a fracture of the distal third of the radius with dislocation of the distal radioulnar joint. It classically involves an isolated fracture of the junction of the distal third and middle third of the radius with associated ...

.Galeazzi fracture
at

eMedicine eMedicine is an online clinical medical knowledge base founded in 1996 by doctors Scott Plantz and Jonathan Adler, and computer engineer Jeffrey Berezin. The eMedicine website consists of approximately 6,800 medical topic review articles, each of ...

In 1886, he commenced his studies at Turin Medical School, graduating with honors in 1890. In 1899, he became a qualified lecturer in Clinical Medicine and Surgical Operations and, in 1903, was appointed as the Director of the Pius Institute for Crippled Children (Instituto dei Rachitici). He was the director of the orthopaedic clinic at the

University of Milan The University of Milan ( it, Università degli Studi di Milano; la, Universitas Studiorum Mediolanensis), known colloquially as UniMi or Statale, is a public research university in Milan, Italy. It is one of the largest universities in Europe ...

for thirty five years. He was known for his work on

congenital A birth defect, also known as a congenital disorder, is an abnormal condition that is present at birth regardless of its cause. Birth defects may result in disabilities that may be physical, intellectual, or developmental. The disabilities can ...

hip dislocation A hip dislocation is when the thighbone (femur) separates from the hip bone (pelvis). Specifically it is when the ball–shaped head of the femur (femoral head) separates from its cup–shaped socket in the hip bone, known as the acetabulum. Th ...

scoliosis Scoliosis is a condition in which a person's spine has a sideways curve. The curve is usually "S"- or "C"-shaped over three dimensions. In some, the degree of curve is stable, while in others, it increases over time. Mild scoliosis does not t ...

, skeletal

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

and juvenile osteochondritis, and contributed to the pathological understanding of

osteitis fibrosa cystica Osteitis fibrosa cystica ( ) is a skeletal disorder resulting in a loss of bone mass, a weakening of the bones as their calcified supporting structures are replaced with fibrous tissue ( peritrabecular fibrosis), and the formation of cyst-like brow ...

and

achondroplasia Achondroplasia is a genetic disorder with an autosomal dominant pattern of inheritance whose primary feature is dwarfism. In those with the condition, the arms and legs are short, while the torso is typically of normal length. Those affected ha ...

. He described the fracture that bears his name in 1934, publishing his experience of 18 cases, although the injury pattern had been described previously by

Sir Astley Cooper Sir Astley Paston Cooper, 1st Baronet (23 August 176812 February 1841) was a British surgeon and anatomist, who made contributions to otology, vascular surgery, the anatomy and pathology of the mammary glands and testicles, and the patholog ...

in 1842. He also directed the ''Archivio di Ortopedia'', the oldest journal devoted to orthopaedic surgery, for thirty five years. The Galeazzi test is also named after him, which he developed following a review of more than 12,000 congenital hip dislocations.

References

1866 births 1952 deaths Italian orthopedic surgeons {{italy-med-bio-stub