Bone Fractures

Closed:

• fracture in which the skin remains intact

Open:

• A fracture in which at least one end of the broken bone tears through the skin; carries a high risk of infection

Green stick:

• occurs in children; a partial fracture that causes the bone to bend

Impacted:

• One fragment is driven into the other, usually as a result of compression

Comminuted:

• Several breaks result in many small pieces between two large segments

Oblique:

• a break that occurs at a diagonal angle across the bone

Transverse:

• break that occurs in a straight line across the bone

Segemental:

• the same bone is broken in 2 places causing a floating segment of bone between the two breaks

Displaced:

• A break in which two broken ends of the bone are not lined up and are moved out of place (need to be set)

Nondisplaced:

• a break which the two broken ends of the bone are still lined up and have no movies out of place.

Partial:

• a break that doesn’t go through the bone completely

Complete:

• a break that goes completely through the bone