Fibrillation of head of radius as one cause of tennis elbow.

Twenty-five patients with resistant tennis elbow were treated by exploration of the radio-humeral joint. Twenty cases showed abnormalities of the cartilage of the head of the radius. Division of the orbicular ligament and excision of the abnormal cartilage gave good results in 19 to 20 cases seen recently. We believe fibrillation of the head of the radius is an important cause of tennis elbow, and the arguments to support this theory are enumerated.