[Current and development in shoulder arthroplasty].

Objective: To review the recent research progress on shoulder arthroplasty, and to predict future research direction.

Methods: Recent literature concerned the shoulder arthroplasty was reviewed and analyzed in terms of applied anatomy, designs of prosthesis, patterns of prosthesis and fixation ways of prosthesis.

Results: The shoulder arthroplasty represented the treatments of choice for the patients with end-stage shoulder diseases and traumatic diseases. It could provide good and stable results in pain relief and functional outcomes.

Conclusion: There are still many controversies about the patterns of prosthesis, fixation ways and kinds of materials in clinical practice. Currently, the main research is about the designs of the glenoid prosthesis and the clinical practice in young patients.