ANATOMY

A fracture is a discontinuity in a bone (or cartilage) resulting from mechanical forces which exceed the bone's
ability to withstand them.

Terminology
A fracture is often written as # in medical shorthand, i.e. the hash symbol, although it is still pronounced as
fracture, e.g. "neck of femur fracture", may be written as "#NOF".

Most commonly fractures occur in the setting of a normal bone with acute overwhelming force, usually in the
setting of trauma. Fractures can also occur, however, in a variety of other settings.

Firstly, the entire skeleton may be weak due to metabolic (e.g. osteoporosis) or less frequently genetic
abnormalities (e.g. osteogenesis imperfecta) and thus prone to fractures from forces that would be insufficient
to cause fractures in normal bones. These are known as insufficiency fractures.

Secondly, the protracted chronic application of abnormal stresses (e.g. running)  can result in the accumulation
of microfractures faster than the body can heal, eventually resulting in macroscopic failure. These are
termed fatigue fractures.

Together, insufficiency and fatigue fractures are often grouped together as stress fractures. 

Thirdly, the bone may have a lesion that focally weakens it (e.g. metastasis, bone cyst, etc). These are known
as pathological fractures. 

Rarely the term 'fracture' is also used for non-osseous/chondral structures (e.g. penile fracture) although if
unqualified it is assumed one is referring to a bony fracture. 

Although many eponymous fractures exist and the relevant particulars of a fracture will depend on its specific
location, generally fractures are described in a consistent manner:

Location
 which bone is fractured
 which part of the bone is affected 
o general: epiphysis, physis, metaphysis, diaphysis
o specific features: e.g. tubercle, epicondyle, etc...

Type
Fractures usually fall within a set number of patterns. 
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 complete fracture: extends all the way across the bone (most common)

o transverse fracture: perpendicular to the axis of the bone

o
Oblique fracture:oriented obliquely on the bone

o spiral fracture: helical fracture path usually in the diaphysis of long bones
o comminuted fracture: more than two parts
 incomplete fracture: does not cross the bone completely (usually encountered in children)
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o greenstick fracture: the cortex is broken, but only on one side