Medical Terminology:A living language-Chapter 4 (Pathology-Fractures)
fracture (FX, fx)
a broken bone
Colles' fracture
a common type of wrist fracture
impacted fracture
bone fragments are pushed into each other
comminuted fracture
bone is shattered, splintered or crushed into many small fragments
pathologic fracture
caused by diseased or weakening bone
stress fracture
caused by repetitive, low impact forces (running)
oblique fracture
fracture at an angle to the bone
spiral fracture
fracture lines spiral around shaft of bone (caused by twisting injury, slow to heal)
greenstick fracture
incomplete break; one side is broken, other side is bent (common in children)
compression
involves loss of height in a vertebral body, could be from trauma or osteoporosis
closed fracture
no open skin wound-also called a simple fracture
compound fracture
skin has been broken through to fracture-also called an open fracture
transverse fracture
straight across bone at right angles to long axis of bone
