Fracture \Frac"ture\ (?; 135), n. [L. fractura, fr. frangere, fractum, to break: cf. F. fracture. See {Fraction}.] 1. The act of breaking or snapping asunder; rupture; breach. [1913 Webster]
2. (Surg.) The breaking of a bone. [1913 Webster]
3. (Min.) The texture of a freshly broken surface; as, a compact fracture; an even, hackly, or conchoidal fracture. [1913 Webster]
{Comminuted fracture} (Surg.), a fracture in which the bone is broken into several parts.
{Complicated fracture} (Surg.), a fracture of the bone combined with the lesion of some artery, nervous trunk, or joint.
{Compound fracture} (Surg.), a fracture in which there is an open wound from the surface down to the fracture.
{Simple fracture} (Surg.), a fracture in which the bone only is ruptured. It does not communicate with the surface by an open wound.
Syn: {Fracture}, {Rupture}.
Usage: These words denote different kinds of breaking, according to the objects to which they are applied. Fracture is applied to hard substances; as, the fracture of a bone. Rupture is oftener applied to soft substances; as, the rupture of a blood vessel. It is also used figuratively. "To be an enemy and once to have been a friend, does it not embitter the rupture?" --South. [1913 Webster]

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