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