Abstract
The importance of the thick medial cortex of the proximal femur was described for the first time by Robert Adams (1795- 1871), an outstanding Irish anatomist and surgeon. He became famous mainly for his book on gout and description of heart arrhythmia, the so-called Adams-Stokes syndrome.
He published his original description in today’s unfortunately almost forgotten Cyclopaedia of Anatomy and Physiology. London, Longman 1836-1839.
This book represents a significant source of information on diseases and injuries of great joints (shoulder, elbow, wrist, knee, ankle). The term “Adams’ arch” was probably used for the first time by the American orthopaedic surgeon Nicolas Senn in 1883.
In German literature it appeared in an incorrect form as Adamschen Bogen (Adam’s arch). It was Eduard Albert who in 1900 described the Adams’ arch in its correct form in Czech literature.