FRACTURE TYPESAnd their definitions

Simple or Closed Fracturea fracture in which the broken bone does not

pierce the skin

Compound or Open FractureA fracture in which the bone is sticking through the skin.

Avulsion FractureAn avulsion fracture is a bone fracture which occurs when a fragment of bone tears away from the main mass of bone as a

result of physical trauma.

Blowout FractureOrbital blowout fractures are cracks or breaks in the facial bones surrounding the eye.

Comminuted FractureA fracture in which bone is broken, splintered or crushed into a number of pieces.

Compression FractureA fracture caused by compression, the act of pressing together.

Compression fractures of the vertebrae are especially common with osteoporosis.

Depression FractureFracture of the skull where the bone is pushed in.

Epiphyseal FractureA fracture involving the epiphyseal or growth plate of a long bone,

which causes separation or fragmentation of the plate.

Greenstick FractureA greenstick fracture is a fracture in a young, soft bone in which

the bone bends and partially breaks.

Longitudinal FractureA fracture that follows the long axis of the bone.

Oblique FractureA fracture that is diagonal to a bone's long axis.

Pathological Fracture

CystsEnchondroma

A pathologic fracture is a broken bone caused by disease, often by the spread of a disease like cancer to the bone.

Spiral FractureA fracture where at least one part of the bone has been twisted.

Stress FractureA stress fracture is one type of incomplete fracture in bones,

caused by unusual or repeated stress.

Transverse FractureA fracture that is at a right angle to the bone's long axis.