A rigid support used to immobilize and protect an injured limb or joint during healing. As a verb, to secure with such a device.
From Middle Low German splinte meaning 'metal plate or thin piece of wood.' Related to 'splinter,' the word entered English in the 14th century, initially referring to armor plates before evolving to medical usage for bone support.
Splints represent one of humanity's oldest medical insights - that broken bones heal better when held still and straight. Archaeological evidence shows splints being used 5,000 years ago, making this simple technology one of our most enduring medical practices, essentially unchanged in principle from ancient Egypt to modern emergency rooms.
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