Okuzeka
Emergency Medicine & First Aid vocabulary · Burns, Fractures and Sprains

Dislocation

Meaning in emergency medicine & first aid, with examples

/ˌdɪsloʊˈkeɪʃən/nounCommon term

In emergency medicine & first aid, dislocation means: An injury in which a bone is forced out of its normal position in a joint, such as the shoulder, a finger or the kneecap.

In Turkish: çıkık

How it is used

Patients often say their shoulder 'popped out'. Clinicians describe the direction, for example an anterior shoulder dislocation. Putting the bone back is called 'reduction' or 'relocation' and is usually done in hospital with pain relief. The verb is 'dislocate'.

Example sentences

  1. It looks like a shoulder dislocation, he's holding his arm away from his body.

  2. The finger dislocation was reduced in the department under a nerve block.

Common collocations

  • shoulder dislocation
  • reduce a dislocation
  • recurrent dislocation
  • suspected dislocation
  • fractureA break or crack in a bone, from a thin crack that barely shows on an X-ray to a bone broken into several pieces.
  • sprainAn injury to a ligament, the tough tissue that joins bones at a joint, caused by twisting or stretching it too far; ankles and wrists are most often affected.
  • splintA rigid or padded support fastened along an injured limb to stop it moving, reduce pain and prevent further damage.
  • slingA piece of cloth tied around the neck that supports an injured arm, wrist or shoulder and keeps it still.

More terms: Burns, Fractures and Sprains

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level:

This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.