General Introduction

Deformity refers to any defect state that deviates from the normal anatomical structure and morphology, which is a problem that every living body may face, and is also one of the common problems that plague human health. However, people in different times, different countries, different nationalities, and different cultural backgrounds have great differences in their understanding of limb deformities. For example, Mongolians have a high incidence of mild genu varum deformity in horse riding since childhood, which is not considered abnormal by their own people. In order to meet the local custom of “women’s beauty standards,” Chinese women’s foot binding custom has led to the lifelong disability of countless women’s feet for thousands of years, but it is euphemistically called “three-inch golden lotus” (Fig. 1.1). There is a long-necked ethnic group in northern Myanmar that also shows a long neck through the deformity of the collarbone and scapula caused by pressure, which is considered to be a sign of beauty (Fig. 1.2). In the eighteenth century, the upper class in Europe liked beautiful women with slender waists, which led some women to remove the 11th and 12th ribs for the sake of “slender waists and protruding breasts” (Fig. 1.3).