from
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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