Nondisplaced: bone ends retain their normal position
Displaced: bone ends are out of normal alignment
Complete Fracture: bone is broken all the way through
Incomplete/Greenstick: bone is not broken all the way through.
One side of the bone breaks and the other side bends.
Linear: the fracture is parallel to the long axis of the bone
Transverse: the fracture is perpendicular to the long axis of the bone
Compound (open): bone ends penetrate the skin
Simple (closed): bone ends do not penetrate the skin
Comminuted: bone fragments into three or more pieces; common in elderly
Spiral: ragged break when bone is excessively twisted; common sports injury
Depressed: broken bone portion pressed inward; typical skull fracture
Compression: bone is crushed; common in porous bones
Epiphyseal: epiphysis separates from diaphysis along epiphyseal line;
occurs where cartilage cells are dying
After looking through my notes about bone fractures I found a pattern. For every fracture there seems to be an opposite one. For example the opposite of nondisplaced is a displaced fracture and the opposite of a complete fracture is an incomplete fracture. Learning the different types of bone fractures has been the most interesting thing for me to learn so far this year. I understand all of the fractures now!
