History Page: Editorial Notes

It is with great pleasure that the history initiative group of the European Society of Musculoskeletal Radiology in cooperation with the editorial office of Seminars of Musculoskeletal Radiology (SMR) announces the birth of a history page dedicated to leaders in musculoskeletal (MSK) radiology.

This series of short articles pays tribute to the pioneers in our radiologic subdiscipline who often fell into oblivion. In daily practice, we often use medical eponyms such as Sinding-Larsen-Johansson disease, Albers-Schönberg disease, Panner's disease, and Kienböck's disease, but we are unaware of the history behind these names.

In addition, many of these predecessors were visionaries and key figures in future groundbreaking developments in MSK radiology. They all were individuals with a European spirit as they exchanged their ideas across the continent and even worldwide, before the European Community existed. In this regard, they were far ahead of their time. European societies of radiology and related subspecialty disciplines were founded much later.

We are particularly grateful to the editorial board of SMR for supporting this initiative. We also cordially thank colleagues from all the affiliated national MSK organizations and groups that contributed or will support this feature as authors or by contributing fresh ideas.

We agree with the famous Polish First Marshal and statesman Józef Pilsudski who said, “Who doesn't respect and value his past, is not worth the honor of the present, and has no right to a future.” A similar inscription can be found in front of the fortress of Douaumont near Verdun, France: “He who does not honor the past is not worthy of the present.”

We wish you fruitful reading.

Publication History

Article published online:
28 September 2020