[A modern textbook is 100 years old. Albert Hoffa and the "Textbook of Orthopedic Surgery"]

The appearance of Albert Hoffa's "Textbook book of orthopaedics" in 1891 saw the young special discipline enter a new phase of professionalisation in the German-speaking countries. Hoffa defined in this work the scope and methodology of orthopaedics in a sense that is still valid today. By including operative and conservative forms of treatment, he created the foundation for a continued scientific development of the subject. Only with the appearance of Hoffa's work did orthopaedics gain acceptance as a special area by many physicians. The far-reaching influence and significance of the textbook for orthopaedics is portrayed with the aid of historic sources.