If you fracture a bone and it doesn’t break through the skin it is called a closed fracture. The opposite of a closed fracture is when the bone breaks through the skin; it is called an open fracture. When there are organs that are injured, such as the lung, it is called a complicated fracture. Sometimes, the bone splinters into pieces and that is called comminuted.
Compression and impacted fractures are very similar. Compression fractures are caused by pressure. The impacted fractures occur within the same bone and the two pieces are jammed into each other.
When the bones are not completely separated it is incomplete. When the bone is broke into two pieces it is complete.
Hairline fractures are very common. The bone doesn’t separate and the line of break is fine and thin. A fissure fracture is similar to a hairline fracture except it has a narrow splint that doesn’t go through to the other side. If the center fragment contains two cracks that form a triangle it is called a butterfly fracture.
Spiral fractures are when one part of the bone is twisted. If the bone is partially bent and partially broken it is called greenstick. Colles’ fracture is a fracture of the wrist. If you have a break and the fragments are greater than the fracture it is called unstable. An oblique fracture is when the point of break is diagonal to the bones axis.
A complex fracture is also a closed fracture. The difference is in a complex fracture the tissue surrounding the bone is severely damaged. A double fracture is two fractures in the same bone. Segmental is when several large bone fragments separate from the fractured bone. Most bone fractures are fragmental. That means there are broken parts of a bone.
References medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com Taber’s Cyclopedic Medical
References: medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com Taber’s Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary