The branch of surgery broadly concerned with the skeletal system (bones). This spelling is quite common today. But it is actually incorrect, erroneous, flat out wrong. Orthopedics would relate the term to the foot because in Latin pedis means foot. Orthopaedics is not merely old-fashioned. It is the correct spelling. What was meant by the term orthopaedics when it was composed goes back to its roots: ortho-, straight + the Greek paes, child = the practice, literally, of straightening the child. If the child had a crooked spine (scoliosis), it was the job of the orthopaedist to straighten the child, not just the child's foot. The medical professional, who practise orthopaedics, is called orthopaedic surgeon, who uses both surgical & non-surgical means to treat, musculoskeletal trauma, spine diseases, sports injuries, infections, tumours etc.