[Pioneers in the lengthening of the extremities]

Successful lengthening of the extremities was first published at the beginning of the twentieth century. Those reports in which methods such as the distraction of fragments, callus or epiphysis were mentioned for the first time are reviewed. Lengthening of the extremities by epiphyseal distraction was first mentioned by Bernhard v. Langenbeck in 1869 in an animal experiment. The publications of Codivilla, who introduced lengthening by fragment distraction, Kirschner, Bier and others are cited and analyzed critically. Thus, the historical development of the lengthening of the extremities is reported from 1869 to the middle of the twentieth century.