Adjacent Words

comminuted fracture definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: fracture in which the bone is splintered or crushed

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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. 2. (Surg.) The breaking of a bone. 3. (Min.) The texture of a freshly broken surface; as, a compact fracture; an even, hackly, or conchoidal fracture. 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.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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. Comminuted fracture. See under Fracture.