A small non-sterile threaded rod with a slotted head, usually used for internal orthopaedic fixation of fractures by screwing into the bone to hold plates or pins in the bone or to provide direct interfragmentary stabilisation of the bone as well as attachment of soft tissue to the bone; it is made from a material that does not chemically degrade or resorb as a result of the body's natural processes (including metals suitable for implantation such as surgical steel, titanium alloy or carbon fibre)
