Wordnet 3.0
NOUN (1)
1.
fracture in which the bone is splintered or crushed;
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Fracture \Frac"ture\ (?; 135), n. [L. fractura, fr. frangere,
fractum, to break: cf. F. fracture. See Fraction.]
1. The act of breaking or snapping asunder; rupture; breach.
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2. (Surg.) The breaking of a bone.
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3. (Min.) The texture of a freshly broken surface; as, a
compact fracture; an even, hackly, or conchoidal fracture.
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Comminuted fracture (Surg.), a fracture in which the bone
is broken into several parts.
Complicated fracture (Surg.), a fracture of the bone
combined with the lesion of some artery, nervous trunk, or
joint.
Compound fracture (Surg.), a fracture in which there is an
open wound from the surface down to the fracture.
Simple fracture (Surg.), a fracture in which the bone only
is ruptured. It does not communicate with the surface by
an open wound.
Syn: Fracture, Rupture.
Usage: These words denote different kinds of breaking,
according to the objects to which they are applied.
Fracture is applied to hard substances; as, the
fracture of a bone. Rupture is oftener applied to soft
substances; as, the rupture of a blood vessel. It is
also used figuratively. "To be an enemy and once to
have been a friend, does it not embitter the rupture?"
--South.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Comminute \Com"mi*nute\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Comminuted; p.
pr. & vb. n. Comminuting.] [L. comminutus, p. p. of
comminuere to comminute; com- + minuere to lessen. See
Minute.]
To reduce to minute particles, or to a fine powder; to
pulverize; to triturate; to grind; as, to comminute chalk or
bones; to comminute food with the teeth. --Pennant.
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Comminuted fracture. See under Fracture.
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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
comminuted fracture
n 1: fracture in which the bone is splintered or crushed