Complete Fractures
Complete fractures are breaks all the way through the bone, producing two or more fragments of bone.
Interpretation
- Transverse fracture - a fracture straight across the bone
- Oblique fracture - a fracture at an angle to the bone
- Spiral fracture - a corkscrew-shaped fracture around the boneOccurs due to twisting of a long bone
- Comminuted fracture - the bone has been shattered into multiple pieces
- Avulsion fracture - avulsion of a fragment of bone away from the main body of the bone
Incomplete Fractures
Incomplete fractures (fissures, torus and greenstick fractures) are breaks that do not pass through the entirety of a bone. They may be associated with bending of a long bone.
Significance
- Children's bones are softer and more flexible than adults', and therefore are more prone to bending and incomplete fractures. If the force applied on the bone is greater than the mechanical strength of the bone then it will remain bent.
Interpretation
- Bowing fracture - bending without visible breakAngulated longitudinal force
- Fissure - incomplete cortical break without bending
- Torus (buckle) fracture - bending with compression fracture and outward bulging of the cortexAxial loading
- Greenstick (buckle) fracture - bending of a bone on one side with a crack on the opposite side.Angulated longitudinal force or direct perpendicular trauma
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