Extremity radiograph unknown 4
Publication Date: 2009-09-09
Findings
Look at the two views of this patient's leg.
- Do you know what type of fracture this is?Compound (open)
Incorrect. In a compound fracture, bone is exposed outside the body. There is a high risk of infection with this type of fracture. Although you would need to see the patient to make sure this is not an open fracture, there is no evidence on this radiograph that this fracture is open.Compression
Incorrect. Compression fractures occur due to compressive stress. These types of fractures usually occur in the spine.Greenstick
Incorrect. In a greenstick fracture, the cortex of the bone remains partially intact. You can see that the cortex of both bones is completely fractured in this patient.Comminuted
Correct! A comminuted fracture occurs when a bone breaks into multiple segments. In this patient borh the tibia and fibula are broken into multiple segments.
2 images