🦴 Musculoskeletal & Dermatology🟡 High-yieldFractures

Fracture Patterns and Classification

The ways broken bones are described and grouped by the shape of the break and whether the skin is broken.

Key points

A fracture is described by its site, its pattern, and whether the overlying skin is intact (closed) or broken (open).
Common patterns include transverse, oblique and spiral breaks, and a comminuted fracture that shatters into several pieces.
In children, the soft bone may bend or buckle, giving greenstick and torus (buckle) fractures that are unique to the young.
A fracture through the growth plate at the end of a child's bone is important because it can disturb later growth.
An open (compound) fracture, where the bone communicates with a skin wound, carries a high risk of infection.

Memory trick

Describe fractures by site, pattern and skin: transverse, oblique, spiral, comminuted (shattered); children get greenstick and buckle fractures and growth-plate injuries; open (compound) fractures risk infection.

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🦴 Musculoskeletal & Dermatology🟡 High-yieldFractures

Fracture Patterns and Classification

The ways broken bones are described and grouped by the shape of the break and whether the skin is broken.

Key points

A fracture is described by its site, its pattern, and whether the overlying skin is intact (closed) or broken (open).
Common patterns include transverse, oblique and spiral breaks, and a comminuted fracture that shatters into several pieces.
In children, the soft bone may bend or buckle, giving greenstick and torus (buckle) fractures that are unique to the young.
A fracture through the growth plate at the end of a child's bone is important because it can disturb later growth.
An open (compound) fracture, where the bone communicates with a skin wound, carries a high risk of infection.

Memory trick

All of Orthopaedics More Musculoskeletal & Dermatology