Abstract
IN an earlier communication1 attention was directed to the transfer of metal which can occur between a screwdriver tip and a screw head during the operation of screwing, and the possible significance this might have in orthopædic surgery was discussed. It was demonstrated by a radioactive tracer method that, whenever a screw is inserted, small fragments of metal are plucked out of the driver and remain adhering to the screw head. It was suggested that, although the amount of metal transferred is very small (about 10–100 µgm.), the particles may form corrosion centres and cause metal ions to pass into the surrounding tissue. This may cause tissue reaction and interfere with normal physiology even in cases where no gross corrosion is observed.
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References
Bowden, F. P., Williamson, J. B. P., and Gowans Laing, P., Nature, 173, 520 (1954).
Tipton, I., Report on the Spectrographic Determination of Trace Elements in Human Tissues, Univ. of Tennessee, Subcontract 380. W-4705 eng-26, March 1953.
Bowden, F. P., and Tabor, D., “The Friction and Lubrication of Solids”, revised edit. (Oxf. Univ. Press, 1954).
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BOWDEN, F., WILLIAMSON, J. & GOWANS LAING, P. Significance of Metallic Transfer in Orthopædic Surgery. Nature 174, 834–835 (1954). https://doi.org/10.1038/174834b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/174834b0
