History of fractures of the proximal fifth metatarsal

Fractures of the proximal fifth metatarsal (PFMT) have been for a long time a neglected issue. A systematic interest in these fractures began to increase not long ago, at the turn of the 1980s. Nevertheless, the history of these fractures is much more diverse.In the pre-radiology era, metatarsal fractures were considered to be a rare injury and most of the prominent fracture textbooks of that time made no mention of them. Only Malgaigne, in 1847, cited Bérard́s description of “the proximal fifth metatarsal fracture”.Sir Robert Jones, in 1902, was the first to describe six such fractures on the basis of radiographs, including his own injury while dancing; hence the eponym “Jones” or “Dancer's fracture”. Tanton, in 1916, divided PFMT fractures into two types and also mentioned an ossification at the tuberosity. Carp, in 1927, published the first current concept review on fifth metatarsal fractures. For a long time after the Carp’s article, no major study appeared in the literature that would reveal any new findings concerning these fractures. The publications of that time were primarily general or case reports and notable fracture textbooks published between the wars mostly ignored this issue. Stewart́s article from 1960 brought a new impetus for research of fractures of the proximal fifth metatarsal that lasted until today.