Compound Fracture

A bone fracture is a medical condition in which there is a partial or complete break in the continuity of a bone. A bone fracture may be the result of high force impact or stress, or a minimal trauma injury as a result of certain medical conditions that weaken the bones, such as osteoporosis, osteopenia, bone cancer, or osteogenesis imperfecta, where the fracture is then properly termed a pathologic fracture. Although bone tissue contains no pain receptors, a bone fracture is painful for several reasons: Damage to adjacent structures such as nerves, muscles or blood vessels, spinal cord, and nerve roots , or cranial contents may cause other specific signs and symptoms. Some fractures may lead to serious complications including a condition known as compartment syndrome. Other complications may include non-union, where the fractured bone fails to heal or mal-union, where the fractured bone heals in a deformed manner. One form of malunion is the malrotation of a bone, which is especially common after femoral and tibial fractures. Complications of fractures may be classified into three broad groups, depending upon their time of occurrence. Are as follows – The natural process of healing a fracture starts when the injured bone and surrounding tissues bleed, forming a fracture hematoma. Within a few days, blood vessels grow into the jelly-like matrix of the blood clot. The blood vessels also bring fibroblasts in the walls of the vessels and these multiply and produce collagen fibres. Collagen's rubbery consistency allows bone fragments to move only a small amount unless severe or persistent force is applied. At this stage, some of the fibroblasts begin to lay down bone matrix in the form of collagen monomers. Monomers spontaneously assemble to form the bone matrix, for which bone crystals are deposited in amongst, in the form of insoluble crystals. In fact, bone is a mineralized collagen matrix; if the mineral is dissolved out of bone, it becomes rubbery.