Which fracture has a break all the way through but the skin remains intact?

Which fracture has a break all the way through but the skin remains intact?

• A. Simple fracture
• B. Compound fracture
• C. Comminuted fracture
• D. Colles' fracture

Answer: (A)

A fracture where the bone is completely broken through but the skin remains uninjured is a closed (simple) fracture. The break goes all the way across the bone, creating two or more bone pieces, but there’s no skin wound. This contrasts with an open (compound) fracture, where the skin is broken and the bone may be exposed, increasing infection risk. The term comminuted describes a fracture where the bone is broken into several pieces, which is about fragmentation rather than whether the skin is breached. Colles' fracture is a specific distal radius fracture pattern and, like a closed fracture in many cases, is defined by location and appearance rather than skin integrity.

A fracture where the bone is completely broken through but the skin remains uninjured is a closed (simple) fracture. The break goes all the way across the bone, creating two or more bone pieces, but there’s no skin wound. This contrasts with an open (compound) fracture, where the skin is broken and the bone may be exposed, increasing infection risk. The term comminuted describes a fracture where the bone is broken into several pieces, which is about fragmentation rather than whether the skin is breached. Colles' fracture is a specific distal radius fracture pattern and, like a closed fracture in many cases, is defined by location and appearance rather than skin integrity.