view the inside of a JOINT, providing a method of
minimally invasive visualization for diagnostic and
therapeutic purposes.
As in most areas of health and medicine, the
most significant breakthroughs in research and
treatment for musculoskeletal conditions comes
from new discoveries in genetics. Researchers
have identified many of the GENE mutations
responsible for muscular dystrophy, for example.
Though GENE THERAPYas treatment for genetically
based musculoskeletal conditions remains experi-
mental, the potential is great for treatments that
can reverse the effects of gene mutations to halt
and correct disease processes.296 The Musculoskeletal System