What term describes a fracture in which the broken bone breaks through the skin?

What term describes a fracture in which the broken bone breaks through the skin?

• A. Closed fracture
• B. Open fracture
• C. Comminuted fracture
• D. Greenstick fracture

Answer: (B)

Open fracture describes a break where the bone pierces the skin. This means the fracture communicates with the outside environment through a wound, often called a compound fracture. The skin is not intact, which raises infection risk and typically requires urgent medical care, including cleaning (debridement), antibiotics, and stabilization of the bone. In contrast, a closed fracture has a skin surface intact, with no direct wound over the fracture. Other fracture patterns, like a comminuted fracture, involve the bone breaking into multiple pieces (and can be open or closed), while a greenstick fracture is an incomplete break more common in children, where one side of the bone bends and cracks but doesn’t snap completely. Here, the key idea is that bone exposure through the skin defines an open fracture.

Open fracture describes a break where the bone pierces the skin. This means the fracture communicates with the outside environment through a wound, often called a compound fracture. The skin is not intact, which raises infection risk and typically requires urgent medical care, including cleaning (debridement), antibiotics, and stabilization of the bone.

In contrast, a closed fracture has a skin surface intact, with no direct wound over the fracture. Other fracture patterns, like a comminuted fracture, involve the bone breaking into multiple pieces (and can be open or closed), while a greenstick fracture is an incomplete break more common in children, where one side of the bone bends and cracks but doesn’t snap completely. Here, the key idea is that bone exposure through the skin defines an open fracture.