1.
[syn: simple fracture, closed fracture]
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.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Surg.) The breaking of a bone.
[1913 Webster]
3. (Min.) The texture of a freshly broken surface; as, a
compact fracture; an even, hackly, or conchoidal fracture.
[1913 Webster]
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.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
simple fracture
n 1: an uncomplicated fracture in which the broken bones to not
pierce the skin [syn: simple fracture, closed fracture]