An anatomical, experimental, and clinical study of acute phlegmons of the hand.

"Kanavel produced the classic paper on infection in Surgery, Gynecology and Obstetrics in 1905. In that paper, he described the anatomy and clinical study of acute infections of the hand. This clearly changed the course of treatment for infections and has withstood the passage of time. The basic principles laid down by Kanavel continue to be appropriate today. He was working in the preantibiotic era and his delineation of the anatomic spaces allowed surgeons to approach infections in a new way, changing the clinical outcome from amputation to preservation of structures. His principles, with the addition of antibiotics, now makes the treatment of infections relatively predictable" (Wilgis, "Classic Papers in Hand Surgery", The Journal of Hand Surgery, 25, issue 1, January 2000).