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

Open fracture

Meaning in emergency medicine & first aid, with examples

nounCommon term

In emergency medicine & first aid, open fracture means: A broken bone where the skin over it is also broken, so the bone may be visible and the fracture is exposed to infection.

In Turkish: açık kırık

How it is used

An older name is 'compound fracture', and the opposite is a 'closed fracture'. Open fractures are treated as emergencies because of the risk of bleeding and infection; crews cover the wound and hospitals usually give antibiotics early.

Example sentences

  1. Motorcyclist with an open fracture of the left lower leg.

  2. The open fracture was covered with a sterile dressing on scene.

Common collocations

  • open tibial fracture
  • compound fracture
  • closed fracture
  • 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.
  • splintA rigid or padded support fastened along an injured limb to stop it moving, reduce pain and prevent further damage.
  • woundAn injury where the skin or other tissue is cut, torn, pierced or broken, for example by a knife, glass, a fall or a bite.
  • bleedingThe loss of blood from a damaged blood vessel, either out of the body through a wound or inside the body where it cannot be seen.

More terms: Burns, Fractures and Sprains

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