Broken bones - bones break under varying degrees of pressure according to age, health and other circumstances. They are made of hard, strong connective tissue and normally resist considerable force before breaking or fracturing. But when a bone has been softened by disease or grown fragile with age, fractures may follow very minor accidents or even occur spontaneously (pathological fractures). The bones of children are not fully mature and are still relatively flexible. In childhood a severe blow or fall often results in a (greenstick) fracture, in which the bone appears to bend but does not completely break into two separate pieces. An impacted fracture occurs when the broken ends of the bone appear to be jammed together by the force of the injury. A comminuted fracture is one in which the ends are shatted into many pieces. A fracture is called simple (closed) when the overlying skin is not broken, or compound (open) when the bone is exposed. All fractures attempts to heal themselves by producing new tissue to join the broken pieces together. At first this tissue is like putty and easily injured. So, generally a fractured limb should be straightened, immobilized and protected by a plaster cast while the healing takes place. In time the new tissue, or fracture callus, changes into mature bone.
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