comminuted fracture
1
8.1
- noun
- /ˈkɒmɪnjuːtɪd ˈfræktʃər/
- Specialized
:
fractura conminuta
- After suffering a severe fall, she was diagnosed with a comminuted fracture in her wrist, which required surgical intervention.
Examples
-
Comminuted fractures of the middle phalangeal base are common and difficult to reconstruct.
Academic text (2015) -
Deceased has numerous injuries including gross comminuted fracture right side of his skull.
-
If someone strains their thumb, their case is simply not going to be worth as much as the case where the person has a comminuted fracture of the femur.
Blog text (15) -
Displaced, open, or comminuted fractures of the tibia can be seen in children following a motor vehicle crash or significant trauma, whereas a toddler's fracture of the tibia is often seen with a simple trip over a toy.
Academic text (2006) -
A comminuted fracture occurs when the bone is broken into several pieces, making it more complicated to heal.
-
The doctor confirmed that he had a comminuted fracture after the X-ray showed the bone was smashed into multiple fragments.
How Broken
- Archaic
- Specialized
1
8.1
- Specialized
1
3.5
9
5.1
Surface Forms
Morphology
Both constituents contribute directly to the meaning: 'comminuted' denotes being shattered into small fragments and 'fracture' denotes a break. A learner who knows these words can predict that a 'comminuted fracture' is a break in a bone into several pieces, so the phrase is compositional and immediately understandable.
Etymology
Comminuted fracture comes from an old word that means 'to break into small pieces'. Imagine a bone shattered like a broken stick into many bits. The word comminuted shows the many pieces and fracture means a break, so the term means a bone 'broken into several pieces'.