Ch.22 - Recognizing Fractures and Dislocations Flashcards
Complete fractures:
- Involve the entire cortex.
- They are more common.
- Typically occur in adults.
Incomplete fractures:
Involve only a part of the cortex and typically occur in bones that are softer - Such as those of children.
Torus and greenstick fractures are … .
Incomplete fractures.
Fracture lines tend to be:
Blacker, more sharply angled, and more jagged than other lucencies in bones such as nutrient canals or epiphyseal plates.
Sesamoids, accessory ossicles, and unhealed fractures may mimic acute fractures BUT …
ALL will have smooth and corticated margins.
Dislocation is present when:
2 bones that originally formed a joint are no longer in contact with each other.
Subluxation is present when:
2 bones that originally formed a joint are in partial contact with each other.
Fractures are described in many ways, including:
- The number of fracture fragments.
- Direction of the fracture line.
- Relationship of the fragments to each other.
- Whether or not they communicate with the outside atmosphere.
Simple fractures have:
2 fragments.
Comminuted fractures have:
More than 2 fragments.
Segmental + Butterfly fractures describe …
2 types of comminuted fracture.
The direction of fracture lines is described as:
- Transverse.
- Diagonal.
- Spiral.
The relationships of the fragments of a fracture are described by 4 parameters:
- Displacement.
- Angulation.
- Shortening.
- Rotation.
Closed or open fractures are more common?
Closed are much more common.
Avulsion fractures are produced by …
The forceful contraction of a tendon or ligament.
Avulsion fractures can occur at any age, but …
are particularly common in younger, athletic individuals.
The Salter-Harris classification:
Categorizes fractures through the epiphyseal plate that are graded by severity + prognosis.
Child abuse should be suspected when there are:
- Multiple fractures in various stages of healing.
- Metaphyseal corner fractures.
- Rib fractures.
- Skull fractures.
esp. if multiple.
Stress fractures:
(eg. march fractures in the metatarsals) occur as a result of numerous microfractures and frequently are NOT visible on conventional radiographs taken when the pain first begins.
After some time, bony callous formation or a dense zone of sclerosis becomes visible.
Colles’ fractures:
Of the radius.
Smith’s fracture:
Of the radius.
Jones fracture:
of the base of the 5th metatarsal.
Boxer’s fracture:
Of the head of the 5th metacarpal.
March fracture:
In the foot.
Some fractures are more difficult to detect than others:
The easily missed fractures (and how common they are) include:
- Scaphoid fractures (common).
- Buckle fractures of the radius/ulna (common).
- Radial head fractures (common).
- Supracondylar fractures (common).
- Posterior dislocations of the shoulder (uncommon).
- Hip fractures (common).
What should alert you to the possibility of an underlying fracture:
- Soft tissue swelling.
- Disappearance of normal fat stripes and fascial planes.
- Joint effusions.
- Periosteal reaction.
Fractures heal with a :
Combination of ENDOSTEAL callus, recognized by a progressive indistinctness of the fracture line +
EXTERNAL callus that bridges the fracture site.
Definition of fracture:
A disruption in the continuity of all or part of the cortex of a bone.
Incomplete fractures tend to occur in bones that are …?
“Softer” than normal such as those in children, or in adults with bone-softening diseases such as:
- Paget.
- Osteomalacia.
Examples of incomplete fractures in children are …?
- Greenstick fracture –> Involves only one part of, but NOT the entire cortex.
- Torus fracture (buckle fractures) –> Compression of the cortex.
Sesamoids…?
Are bones that form in a tendon as it passes over a joint.
What is the largest and most famous sesamoid?
The patella.
Accessory ossicles…?
Are accessory epiphyseal or apophyseal ossification centers that do NOT fuse with the parent bone.
What can sometimes mimic acute fracture?
An old, unhealed fracture.
There almost always sesamoids present in the …?
- Thumb.
- Posterolateral aspect of the knee (Fabella).
- The great toe.