Description of Bone Fracture
Any break in a bone, which may be complete or incomplete. There are many different forms of fracture, and these are listed below:
. Simple fracture (or closed fracture). In this type, the skin remains more or less intact.
. Compound fracture (or open fracture). An open wound connects the bone with the surface. This type of fracture is more serious as it provides a greater risk of infection and more blood loss.
. Pathological fracture. A fracture in a diseased bone, which often occurs in people, especially women, with osteoporosis.
. Stress fracture. Occurs in a bone that suffers recurrent, persistent stress e.g. the march fracture sometimes seen in the second toe of soldiers after long marches.
. Greenstick fracture. This occurs only in young children, whose bones are still soft and tend to bend. The fracture occurs on the opposite side to the causal force.
. Complicated fracture. This involves damage to surrounding soft tissue including nerves and blood vessels.
. Depressed fracture. This refers only to the skull when a piece of bone is forced inwards and may damage the brain.
. Comminuted fracture. A serious injury to a bone in which more than one break occurs, accompanied by splintering and damage to the surrounding tissues. It usually results from a crushing force with damage to nerves, muscles and blood vessels, and the bone is difficult to set.
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