INTERNATIONAL ISO STANDARD 8548-1 First edition 1989-08-01 Prosthetics and orthotics -- Limb deficiencies Part 1 : Method of describing limb deficiencies present at birth Protheses et ortheses - Malformation des membres - Partie 1 : Methode de description des malformations congenitales des membres Reference number ISO 8548-1 : 1989 (E) No reproduction or networking permitted without license from IHS Not for Resale ISO 8548-1 : 1989 (E) Foreword Iso (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out through ISo technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International organizations, govern- mental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISo, also take part in the work. Iso collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of electrotechnical standardization. Draft International Standards adopted by the technical committees are circulated to the member bodies for approval before their acceptance as International Standards by the ISo Council. They are approved in accordance with ISO procedures requiring at International Standard ISO 8548-1 was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 168, Prosthetics and orthotics. ISo 8548 consists of the following parts, under the general title Prosthetics and orthotics-Limb deficiencies: Part 1: Method of describing limb deficiencies present at birth Part 2: Method of describing lower limb amputation stumps NOTE - A further part is also in preparation, covering the method of describing upper limb amputationstumps. Annex A of this part of ISO 8548 is for information only. @ISO 1989 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and microfilm, without permission in writing from the publisher. International Organization for Standardization Case postale 56 . CH-1211 Geneve 20 Switzerland Printed in Switzerland n for Standardizatior No reproduction or networking permtted withoutlicense from IHS Not for Resale ISO 8548-1 : 1989 (E) Introduction Prior to 1961 there was little or no agreement over the terms used to describe con- genital skeletal limb deficiencies. In that year Frantz and O'Rahilly published a classification in the USA which attempted to provide a comprehensive system of nomenclature. At the same time a different system was in use in Europe. Alithough both systems used terms derived from Greek roots there was little similarity. A revision of the US classification by Burtch in 1966 attempted to bridge the gap, but has been used as a third system rather than as a revised version. In 1969 Henkel and Willert pro- duced a systemization of the German nomenclature based on a progression in the severity of the defect. Against this background the International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics formed an international working party in 1973 whose task was to produce a single acceptable classification. Early agreement was reached that this should apply only to those defi- ciencies which result from a failure of formation of parts, and should describe them in simple anatomical terms avoiding words derived from Greek or Latin roots. This work- ing party (usually known as the Kay Committee after its Chairman, the late Hector Kay) produced such a classification which was tested in a number of centres. In brief, it describes all such deficiencies as either "transverse" or "longitudinal". The former in- cludes all those in which the affected limb has developed proximodistally to a particular level beyond which no skeletal elements exist, and thus the limb resembles an ampu- tation stump. Such deficiencies are described by the level at which the limb terminates: The longitudinal type of