This is a basic article for medical students and other non-radiologists
Describing fracture displacement is really important when assessing a fracture. The type and degree of displacement will have a significant effect on the management plan and prognosis.
Reference article
This is a summary article. For more information, you can read a more in-depth reference articles: fracture.
Summary
When describing a fracture, displacement is important to assess and describe. It comes in three main flavors:
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known by a couple of other names:
"translocation"
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"displacement"
confusingly there is inconsistent use of the word
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a line drawn down the center of the bone is not continuous
there is a step at the fracture site
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describe
the direction of translation of the distal fracture component
the amount of translation (as a percentage of bone width)
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a line drawn down the center of the bone is angled at the fracture
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describe
direction of angulation of the distal fracture component
the amount of angulation in degrees (estimate)
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a difficult thing to assess on plain radiographs
usually evident clinically and common in spiral fractures
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how far the fracture is separated in the long axis of the bone, termed distraction
depressed or impacted fractures are telescoped into each other
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