Day 35 - Fractures or broken bones are described by their location, how the bones are aligned, whether there are associated complications with blood and nerve function, and whether the skin is intact at the injury site.
Bones are rigid, but they do bend or "give" somewhat when an outside force is applied. However, if the force is too great, the bones will break, just as a plastic ruler breaks when it is bent too far. Thus, the severity of a fracture usually depends on the force that caused the break.
These breaks are classified by where they’re open fractures (complex fractures) or closed (simple fractures). Essentially, open fractures refer to when the bone penetrates through the skin and has a higher risk of infection whereas closed fails to breach the skin.
Simple fractures include:
Greenstick fracture: an incomplete fracture in which the bone is bent. This type of fracture occurs most often in children.
Transverse fracture: a fracture at a right angle to the bone's axis.
Oblique fracture: a fracture in which the break is at an angle to the bone’s axis.
Comminuted fracture: a fracture in which the bone fragments into several pieces.
An impacted fracture: a fracture whose ends are driven into each other. This commonly occurs with arm fractures in children and is sometimes known as a buckle fracture.
Spiral fracture: a fracture that spirals or extends down the length of the bone
Bowing fracture: when the bone bends but doesn't break. This type of “fracture” is only seen in children.
Fractures are also defined by anatomical terms to determine locations, these include:
Proximal (closer to the center of the body) and Distal (further from the center)
(Ex. the elbow is proximal to the wrist and the wrist is distal to the elbow)
Anterior (toward the front of the body) and Posterior (toward the back)
(Ex. The chest is anterior to the back and the back is posterior to the chest)
Medial (toward the middle of the body) and Lateral (to the outer edge of the body)
(Ex. The ears are lateral to the nose and the nose is medial to the ears)
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