4.15. Match the types of fractures with their definitions.
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| A COMMINUTED FRACTURE
| A
| results in a diagonal crack across the bone and two very jagged, pointed ends that, if displaced, can potentially cause a good bit of soft tissue damage. There are two types most likely to result in compound fractures.
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| A GREENSTICK FRACTURE
| B
| involves a crack perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the bone that goes all the way through the bone. Displacement may occur; however, because of the shape of the fractured ends, the soft tissue (for example, muscles, tendons, and fat) that surrounds it sustains relatively little damage. A linear fracture runs parallel to the long axis of a bone and is similar in severity to a transverse fracture.
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| AN OBLIQUE FRACTURE
| C
| occurs most often in children whose bones are still growing and have not yet had a chance to calcify and harden. It is called so because of the resemblance to the splintering that occurs to a tree twig that is bent to the point of breaking. Because the twig is green, it splinters but can be bent without causing an actual break.
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| AN AVULSION FRACTURE
| D
| is similar to an oblique fracture in that the angle of the fracture is diagonal across the bone. In addition, an element of twisting or rotation causes the fracture to spiral along the longitudinal axis of the bone. These fractures used to be fairly common in ski injuries occurring just above the top of the boot when the bindings on the ski failed to release when the foot was rotated. These injuries are now less common due to improvements in equipment design.
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| A TRANSVERSE FRACTURE
| E
| is a serious problem that may require an extremely long time for rehabilitation. In this kind of fracture, multiple fragments of bone must be surgically repaired and fixed with screws and wires. If a fracture of this type occurs to a weight-bearing bone, as in the leg, a permanent discrepancy in leg length may develop.
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| A SPIRAL FRACTURE
| F
| one end of the fractured bone is driven up into the other end. As with the comminuted fracture, correcting discrepancies in the length of the extremity may require long periods of intensive rehabilitation.
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| AN IMPACTED
FRACTURE
| G
| occurs when a fragment of bone is pulled away at the bony attachment of a muscle, tendon, or ligament. These fractures are common in the fingers and some of the smaller bones but can also occur in larger bones whose tendinous or ligamentous attachments are subjected to a large amount of force.
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4.16. Ask questions to the italic words and phrases.
