1870 - British surgeon Joseph Lister introduces aseptic surgical techniques, which reduced infection and opened the door to all modern surgical practices.

 1886 - German doctor H. Hansmann becomes the first surgeon to use metal plates for internal fixation.

1890 - Surgeons at the 19th Congress of the German Society for Surgery outline the general concepts for total joint replacement, upon which current practices are still based.

1893 - Surgeon W. A. Lane develops a system of carbon steel screws and plates for internal fixation.

1895 - German scientist Wilhelm Roentgen identifies X-rays, which become a critical diagnostic tool for orthopaedics.

1907 - Noted Swiss orthopaedist Fritz Steinman introduces a special "pin" around which external fixation devices may be built and through which traction may be applied.

1926 - Stainless steel, developed 14 years earlier, is introduced as a corrosion-resistant material for orthopaedic implant devices.
 

1928 - Sir Thomas Fleming introduces the powerful antibiotic, penicillin.

1931 - Boston surgeon Marius Smith-Petersen also develops a metal cup for use in partial hip replacement.

 1932 - Sulfa drugs are introduced, adding another key weapon in medicine's arsenal against infection.

1936 - A cobalt alloy is introduced into orthopaedic surgery by Drs. C S Venable and W.G. Stuck. It becomes among the most popular alloys in orthopaedic for many years.

1938 - British surgeons perform the first total hip replacement.

1939-45 - World War II spurs development of many

new materials and surgical techniques later incorporated into orthopaedic use.
 

1940 - Building on Smith-Petersen's work with hip replacement, several surgeons develop femoral mold replacements for the knee.

1943 - Dr. P.H. Harmon experiments with acrylic cups for arthroplasty.
 

1946 - The Judet brothers introduce an acrylic hip prosthesis, which quickly proves to be too weak. Development efforts turn to metal alloys for future prostheses.

1950s - Dr. Paul Harrington begins research for treatment of scoliosis.

1950s - The first titanium-based alloys are developed for implant appliances, as the search for maximum biocompatibility continues.

1951 - Several surgeons begin regular installation of stainless steel hips.

1959 - British orthopaedic surgeon Sir John Charnley begins his extensive research and innovations in low-friction total hip replacement, first using PTF Polymer cups and later introducing the use of bone cement as grout.

Early 1960s - Bone cement materials are refined to be used in long-term fixation.

1968 - First non-hinged total knee unit is developed.

1970s - Experiments begin on use of porous materials to encourage bone growth around implants.

1980s - Improvements on materials and surgical

techniques continue. New areas such as arthroscopic surgery and electric bone growth stimulation are refined.
 

1984 - Massachusetts General surgeon Dr. William H. Harris and MIT engineers implant a specially instrumented hip prosthesis capable of measuring actual pressures inside a functioning hip.

1984 - Introduction begins of The Total System, a successful modular hip replacement system and Total Knee, a modular system to replace arthritic knees.

1998 The Integrated Surgical Systems announce the ROBODOC® Surgical Assistant System trademark, a milling robot used in joint replacement surgery.

1999 - The first-ever live Internet broadcast of knee replacement surgery.