Nicholas Andry coined the word "orthopaedics", derived from Greek words for orthos ("correct", "straight") and paideia ("rearing" (usually of child)), in 1741, when at the age of 81 he published Orthopaedia: or the Art of Correcting and Preventing Deformities in Children.

In the US the spelling orthopedics is standardFact: date=February 2007, although the majority of university and residency programsFact: date=February 2007, and even the AAOS, still use Andry's spelling. Elsewhere, usage is not uniform; in Canada, both spellings are common; orthopaedics usually prevails in the rest of the Commonwealth, especially in Britain.

Training

In the United States and Canada, orthopedic surgeons have typically completed 4 years of undergraduate education and 4 years of medical school. Subsequently, orthopedic surgeons undergo residency training in orthopedic surgery. The five-year residency consists of one year of general surgery training followed by four years of training in orthopedic surgery.

Selection for residency training in orthopedic surgery is extremely competitive--candidates for orthopedic residencies generally graduate at the top of their medical school classes. Approximately 650 physicians complete orthopedic residency training per year in the US. About 7 percent of current orthopaedic surgery residents are women; about 20 percent are members of minority groups. There are approximately 20,400 actively practicing orthopaedic surgeons and residents in the United States. According to the latest Occupational Outlook Handbook (2006–2007) published by the US Department of Labor, between 3–4% of all practicing physicians are orthopedic surgeons.

Many orthopedic surgeons elect to do further subspecialty training, or 'fellowships', after completing their residency training. Fellowship training in an orthopedic subspeciality is typically one year in duration (sometimes two) and sometimes has a research component involved with the clinical and operative training. Examples of orthopedic subspecialty training in the US are:

• Hand surgery
• Shoulder and elbow surgery
• Total joint reconstruction (arthroplasty)
• Pediatric orthopedics
• Foot and ankle surgery
• Spine surgery
• Musculoskeletal oncology
• Surgical sports medicine
• Orthopedic trauma

These specialty areas of medicine are not exclusive to Orthopaedic Surgery. For example, Hand surgery is practiced by some plastic surgeons and spine surgery is practiced by most neurosurgeons. Additionally, foot and ankle surgery is practiced by board certified Doctors of Podiatric Medicine (D.P.M.) in the United States. Some family practice physicians practice sports medicine, however their scope of practice is non-operative..