Orthopedic Index began as my own reading list. As a resident, I found that the hardest part of learning orthopedics wasn't the volume of work — it was knowing what to read. Thousands of papers, more every week, and no clear sense of which ones actually mattered or how they fit together.
So I started keeping careful lists — the foundational papers in each area, with notes on why each one mattered and what it changed. Orthopedic Index grew out of those notes. It is a curated collection of the most important articles in the orthopedic literature, organized so you can trace how our understanding of a topic developed rather than confronting the whole field at once.
— Brad Roepke, M.D.
Orthopedic Index is free to use. There is no subscription and no fee to read anything here — the goal is simply to build something genuinely useful for trainees. If you find it helpful and want to support the cost of running it, donations are welcome, but they are entirely optional, and nothing on the site is ever locked behind them.
Orthopedic Index is an independent project and is not affiliated with any hospital system, residency program, or medical institution.
Have a question, suggestion, or found an error? Reach out at brad@orthopedicindex.com. You can also use the feedback button found throughout the site to report bugs or technical issues.