Articles
Articles are a collaborative effort to provide a single canonical page on all topics relevant to the practice of radiology. As such, articles are written and edited by countless contributing members over a period of time. A global group of dedicated editors oversee accuracy, consulting with expert advisers, and constantly reviewing additions.
597 results found
Article
AAST injury scoring scales
The American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST) injury scoring scales are the most widely accepted and used system of classifying and categorizing traumatic injuries. Injury grade reflects severity, guides management, and aids in prognosis. Currently (early 2019), 32 different injury s...
Article
AAST kidney injury scale
The American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST) renal injury scale, most recently updated in 2018, is the most widely used grading system for renal trauma.
The 2018 update incorporates "vascular injury" (i.e. pseudoaneurysm, arteriovenous fistula) into the imaging criteria for viscera...
Article
AAST liver injury scale
The AAST (American Association for the Surgery of Trauma) liver injury scale, most recently revised in 2018, is the most widely used liver injury grading system 3.
The 2018 update incorporates "vascular injury" (i.e. pseudoaneurysm, arteriovenous fistula) into the imaging criteria for visceral ...
Article
AAST spleen injury scale
The American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST) splenic injury scale, most recently revised in 2018, is currently the most widely used grading system for splenic trauma.
The 2018 update incorporates "vascular injury" (i.e. pseudoaneurysm, arteriovenous fistula) into the imaging criter...
Article
Abdominal aortic injury
Abdominal aortic injuries are a very rare form of traumatic aortic injury and are much less common than thoracic aortic injury.
Epidemiology
Aortic injury occurs in <1% of blunt trauma patients, with abdominal aortic injury representing only ~5% of all aortic injuries 1. Males are more freque...
Article
Abdominal compartment syndrome
Abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS) is a disease defined by the presence of new end-organ dysfunction secondary to elevated intraabdominal pressure (IAP). Radiological diagnosis is difficult and usually suggested when a collection of imaging findings are present in the appropriate clinical sett...
Article
Abdominal trauma
Abdominal trauma is usually divided into blunt and penetrating trauma.
Findings of abdominal trauma
haemoperitoneum
splenic trauma: most common
hepatic trauma
renal trauma
pancreatic trauma
gastrointestinal tract (bowel) trauma:
proximal jejunum is most commonly affected by blunt trauma,...
Article
Abdominal wall injury
Abdominal wall injuries comprise a set of injuries of the abdominal wall and include different forms of muscle injuries, traumatic hernias and injuries to the subcutaneous tissue. They are often overshadowed by the attention to associated “more severe” abdominal visceral injuries.
Epidemiology...
Article
Abusive head trauma
Abusive head trauma is a term that is used for inflicted head injury that has occurred by either shaking, impact head trauma, or both, as part of the spectrum of non-accidental injury (NAI).
Pathology
Intracranial injuries
Subdural hemorrhage in a child should be viewed with suspicion. Most o...
Article
Acetabular fracture
Acetabular fractures are a type of pelvic fracture, which may also involve the ilium, ischium or pubis depending on fracture configuration.
Epidemiology
Acetabular fractures are uncommon. The reported incidence is approximately 3 per 100,000 per year. This study reported a 63% to 37% male to f...
Article
Acromioclavicular injury
Acromioclavicular joint (AC) injuries are characterized by damage to the acromioclavicular joint and surrounding structures. Almost invariably traumatic in etiology, they range in severity from a mild sprain to complete disruption.
Epidemiology
AC joint injuries can occur at any age but most f...
Article
Acromioclavicular joint injection (technique)
Acromioclavicular joint (ACJ) injections under image guidance ensure precise delivery of an injectate into the joint. Ultrasound allows for real time visualization of the needle and administration of the injectate. Fluoroscopy is an alternative method of image guidance.
Indications
pain - art...
Article
Acromion fracture
The acromion process is the lateral projection of the scapula spine that extends anteriorly. Fractures of the scapula are uncommon injuries and account for ~3% of all shoulder fractures 1,2 while isolated acromion fractures occur rarely and account for only 9% of all scapular fractures 3.
Patho...
Article
Acute abdominal pain
Acute abdominal pain is a common acute presentation in clinical practice. It encompasses a very broad range of possible etiologies and diagnoses, and imaging is routinely employed as the primary investigative tool in its modern management.
Terminology
A subgroup of patients with acute abdomina...
Article
Acute aortic syndrome
Acute aortic syndrome describes the presentation of patients with one of a number of life-threatening aortic pathologies that give rise to aortic symptoms.
The spectrum of these aortic emergencies include:
aortic dissection
aortic intramural hematoma
penetrating atherosclerotic ulcer
aortic...
Article
Adrenal gland trauma
Adrenal gland trauma most commonly results from blunt force trauma.
Epidemiology
Adrenal gland trauma is present on 1-2% of CT imaging in blunt trauma although the occurrence is thought to be much higher as injury has been demonstrated at 28% in one autopsy series 1-4.
The right adrenal glan...
Article
Allen and Ferguson classification of subaxial cervical spine injuries
Allen and Ferguson classification is used for research purposes to classify subaxial spine injuries. It is based ofn the mechanism of injury and position of the neck during injury. This classification was proposed by Allen and Ferguson in 19823 and at the time of writing (July 2016) remains the ...
Article
American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons classification of periprosthetic hip fractures
The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons classification of periprosthetic hip fractures divides the femur into three separate regions:
level I: proximal femur distally to the lower extent of the lesser trochanter
level II: 10 cm of femur distal to level I
level III: femur distal to level...
Article
Amputation (generic)
The term amputation refers to the disconnection of all or part of a limb from the body. Specifically, amputation is defined as the removal of the structure through a bone. This is in contrast to disarticulation, which is the removal of the structure through a joint.
When due to trauma, traumati...
Article
Amsterdam wrist rules
The Amsterdam wrist rules are validated clinical decision rules for determining which patients require radiographic imaging (wrist radiography) for acute wrist pain following trauma. The initial study evaluated 882 patients and were published in 2015 1. The decision rules assessed different clin...
Article
Anatomy curriculum
The anatomy curriculum is one of our curriculum articles and aims to be a collection of articles that represent the core anatomy knowledge for radiologists and imaging specialists.
General anatomy
Neuroanatomy
Head and neck anatomy
Thoracic anatomy
Abdominal and pelvic anatomy
Spinal anat...
Article
Anderson and D'Alonzo classification of odontoid process fracture
The Anderson and D'Alonzo classification is the most commonly used classification of fractures of the odontoid process of C2.
Classification
type I
rare
fracture of the upper part of the odontoid peg (generally oblique)
above the level of the transverse band of the cruciform ligament
usual...
Article
Anderson and Montesano classification of occipital condyle fractures
The Anderson and Montesano classification of occipital condyle fractures is the most widely used scheme for describing occipital condyle fractures and divides injuries into three types based on morphology and mechanism of injury 1,2,3.
Classification
type I - comminuted (3-15%)
impaction frac...
Article
Ankle fractures
Ankle fractures account for ~10% of fractures encountered in trauma, preceded only in incidence by proximal femoral fractures in the lower limb. They have a bimodal presentation, involving young males and older females. Ankle injuries play a major part in post multitrauma functional impairment t...
Article
Ankle (horizontal beam lateral view)
The ankle horizontal beam lateral view is a modified lateral view part of a three view ankle series.
Indications
This projection is used to assess the distal tibia and fibula, talus, navicular, cuboid, the base of the 5th metatarsal and calcaneus. It is a highly adaptable projection that can b...
Article
Anomalous insertion of the medial meniscus
Anomalous insertion of the medial meniscus (AIMM) is an anatomical variation of the insertion of the anterior root of the medial meniscus.
Terminology
Defined as a congenital variation in the insertion of the anterior root of the medial meniscus onto the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). The...
Article
Anterior cruciate ligament avulsion fracture
Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) avulsion fracture or tibial eminence avulsion fracture is a type of avulsion fracture of the knee. This typically involves separation of the tibial attachment of the ACL to variable degrees. Separation at the femoral attachment is rare 5.
Epidemiology
It is mor...
Article
Anterior cruciate ligament tear
Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears are the most common knee ligament injury encountered in radiology and orthopedic practice.
Clinical presentation
Patients typically present with symptoms of knee instability, usually after acute trauma. The following signs and symptoms are common:
poppi...
Article
Anterior dislocation of the hip
Anterior hip dislocation is much less common than a posterior hip dislocation. It constitutes only 5-18% of all hip dislocations.
Pathology
While the posterior dislocation is often associated with fractures, the anterior dislocation is mostly an isolated injury 1.
Subtypes
It can be classifi...
Article
Anterior shoulder dislocation
Anterior shoulder dislocation is by far the commonest type of dislocation and usually results from forced abduction, external rotation and extension 1.
Epidemiology
Broadly speaking, anterior shoulder dislocations occur in a bimodal age distribution. The first, and by far the more prevalent a...
Article
Anterior subluxation of the cervical spine
Anterior subluxation of the cervical spine, also known as hyperflexion sprain, is a ligamentous injury of the cervical spine.
Clinical presentation
Patients present with severe, focal neck pain. There may be neurological symptoms due to spinal cord injury.
Pathology
Anterior subluxation of t...
Article
Anterior superior iliac spine avulsion injury
Anterior superior iliac spine (ASIS) avulsion injuries typically occur in athletes during forceful muscular contraction. The anterior superior iliac spine is the site of attachment for sartorius and tensor fascia latae muscles.
Pathology
Anterior superior iliac spine avulsion, like other pelv...
Article
Anterolisthesis
The term anterolisthesis refers to anterior displacement (forward slip) of a vertebral body relative to the one below.
Its severity can be graded by the Meyerding classification and its etiology classified according to the Wiltse classification.
Article
Antibiotic beads
Implanted antibiotic beads are a form of microbiological treatment inserted during orthopedic procedures to aid with the treatment of chronic infection. They are also used as a local treatment for osteomyelitis.
The beads are radiopaque, thus lending themselves to visualization on all imaging m...
Article
Antiglide plate fixation
Antiglide plate fixation is an open reduction internal fixation (ORIF) technique used in oblique diaphyseal fractures of the distal fibular.
Usage
They are used to counteract vertical shear forces during axial loading in the diaphyseal bone and to prevent sliding/shortening of the fracture fr...
Article
AO classification of subaxial injuries
The AO Spine classification of subaxial injuries aims to simplify and universalise the classification of subaxial cervical spine fractures and improve interobserver and intraobserver reliability.
Usage
Although its existence is widely known among the relevant subspecialty groups, its day-to-da...
Article
AO/OTA classification of acetabular fractures
The AO/OTA classification is one of the most frequently used systems for classifying acetabular fractures. Like other fractures, they are divided into three groups subject to the severity and complexity of the respective injury 1.
type A: partial articular isolated wall or column fracture
A1: ...
Article
AO/OTA classification of distal tibial fractures
The AO/OTA classification is one of the most frequently used systems for classifying distal tibial fractures or tibial distal end segment fractures. Like other fractures, they are divided into three groups subject to the severity and complexity of the respective injury 1:
type A: extraarticular...
Article
AO/OTA classification of malleolar fractures
The AO/OTA classification of malleolar segment fractures is one of the most frequently used systems for classifying malleolar fractures. It takes the Danis-Weber classification into account and can be correlated to the Lauge-Hansen classification.
Malleolar fractures are divided into three grou...
Article
Aortic isthmus
The aortic isthmus is the part of the aorta just distal to the origin of the left subclavian artery at the site of the ductus arteriosus.
This portion of the aorta is partly constricted in the fetus because of the lack of flow within the aortic sac and ascending aorta. It marks the partial sepa...
Article
Aortic pseudoaneurysm
Aortic pseudoaneurysms typically occur as a result of trauma +/- intervention, a considered subset of traumatic aortic injury in the majority of cases. They can be acute or chronic.
Pathology
Aortic pseudoaneurysms are contained ruptures of the aorta in which the majority of the aortic wall ha...
Article
Aortic pseudoaneurysm versus ductus diverticulum
Differentiation of aortic pseudoaneurysm from ductus diverticulum is critical, particularly in the trauma setting. A traumatic aortic pseudoaneurysm is a surgical emergency whereas a ductus diverticulum is a normal anatomic variant.
The following are differentiating features:
Aortic pseudoaneu...
Article
Aortic transection
An aortic transection, also known as a traumatic aortic rupture, is a type of traumatic aortic injury. It is considered the second most common cause of death associated with motor vehicle accidents.
Pathology
It occurs from a near-complete tear through "all the layers" of the aorta due to trau...
Article
AO Spine classification of sacral injuries
The AO Spine classification of sacral injuries aims to simplify and universalise the process of classifying sacral injuries and improve interobserver and intraobserver reliability.
The AO Spine sacral classification is broken into three subsections that follow a hierarchical structure similar t...
Article
AO spine classification of thoracolumbar injuries
The AO Spine classification of thoracolumbar injuries is one of the more commonly used thoracolumbar spinal fracture classification systems and aims to simplify and universalise the process of classifying spinal injuries and improve interobserver and intraobserver reliability 3.
Unlike the othe...
Article
AO Spine classification of upper cervical injuries
The AO Spine classification of upper cervical injuries aims to simplify and universalise the process of classifying upper cervical injuries and improve interobserver and intraobserver reliability.
Usage
Although in routine clinical practice, at least in many institutions, injuries will be desc...
Article
AO Spine classification systems
The AO Spine classification systems is a group of imaging morphology-based classification system, combined with clinical factors for injury of spinal trauma. It is designed to be a simple and reproducible method of describing injury patterns.
AO Spine has published four injury classification sy...
Article
Apophyseal avulsion fractures of the pelvis and hip
Apophyseal avulsion fractures of the pelvis and hip are relatively common among physically active adolescents and young adults.
Epidemiology
Pelvic and hip apophyseal injuries typically occur in the 14 to 25 year age range.
Mechanism
Kicking sports, such as soccer, and gymnastics are frequen...
Article
Arthrofibrosis
Arthrofibrosis is a complication of injury or trauma to a joint. It can also be iatrogenic e.g. post knee surgeries. It consists of excessive scar tissue formation within the joint capsule, resulting in pain, stiffness, and swelling, which are greater than expected in the given clinical scenario...
Article
Atlanto-axial subluxation
Atlanto-axial subluxation is a disorder of C1-C2 causing impairment in rotation of the neck. The anterior facet of C1 is fixed on the facet of C2. It may be associated with dislocation of the lateral mass of C1 on C2.
Pathology
Etiology
congenital
os odontoideum
Down syndrome (20%)
Morquio...
Article
Atlanto-occipital dissociation injuries
Atlanto-occipital dissociation (AOD) injuries are severe and include both atlanto-occipital dislocations and atlanto-occipital subluxations.
Pathology
The tectorial membrane and alar ligaments provide most of the stability to the atlanto-occipital joint, and injury to these ligaments results i...
Article
Aubergine sign (penis)
The aubergine sign (also known as egg-plant sign or deformity) is a clinical sign of a fractured penis. Hemorrhage beyond the tunica albuginea produces swelling and bruising of the penis simulating the appearance of an aubergine.
Article
Aviator astragalus
Aviator astragalus is an antiquated reference to a pattern of isolated fracture/dislocation injury of the talus. Fractures included under this name include compression fractures of the talar neck, fractures of the body, posterior process or fracture-dislocation injuries.
More specifically the t...
Article
Avulsion fracture of the 5th metatarsal styloid
Avulsion fracture of the 5th metatarsal styloid, also known as a pseudo-Jones fracture or a dancer fracture, is one of the more common foot avulsion injuries and accounts for over 90% of fractures of the base of the 5th metatarsal.
Despite what should be a simple entity, controversy exists, as ...
Article
Avulsion fractures of the knee
Avulsion fractures of the knee are numerous due to the many ligaments and tendons inserting around this joint. They include 1:
anterior cruciate ligament avulsion fracture
posterior cruciate ligament avulsion fracture
avulsion of the medial collateral ligament
origin of MCL avulsion fracture...
Article
Avulsion injury
Avulsion injuries or fractures occur where the joint capsule, ligament, tendon or muscle attachment site is pulled off from the bone, usually taking a fragment of cortical bone. Avulsion fractures are commonly distracted due to the high tensile forces involved. There are numerous sites at which ...
Article
Bado classification of Monteggia fracture-dislocations
The Bado classification is one of the more widely used classifications for Monteggia fracture-dislocations and mainly focuses on the radial component. Four types are recognized and are generally based on the principle that the direction in which the apex of the ulnar fracture points is the same ...
Article
Banana fracture
A banana fracture refers to a complete, horizontally oriented pathological fracture seen in deformed bones affected by Paget disease. This term is often used to describe incremental fractures that occur in Paget disease as well, which represent a type of insufficiency fracture.
The former of th...
Article
Bankart lesion
Bankart lesions are injuries specifically at the anteroinferior aspect of the glenoid labral complex and represent a common complication of anterior shoulder dislocation. They are frequently seen in association with a Hill-Sachs lesion.
Terminology
Strictly speaking, a "Bankart lesion" refers...
Article
Barton fracture
Barton fractures are fractures of the distal radius. It is also sometimes termed the dorsal type Barton fracture to distinguish it from the volar type or reverse Barton fracture.
Barton fractures extend through the dorsal aspect to the articular surface but not to the volar aspect. Therefore, i...
Article
Basilar fractures of the skull
Basilar fractures of the skull, also known as base of skull fractures, are a common form of skull fracture, particularly in the setting of severe traumatic head injury, and involve the base of the skull. They may occur in isolation or often in continuity with skull vault (calvarial) fractures or...
Article
Battle sign (base of skull fracture)
Battle sign is an eponymous term given to mastoid ecchymosis (bruising of the scalp overlying the mastoid process) and is strongly suggestive of a base of skull fracture, most commonly a petrous temporal bone fracture.
History and etymology
Mr William Henry Battle (1855-1936) was an English s...
Article
Benign post-traumatic pseudopneumoperitoneum
Benign post-traumatic pseudopneumoperitoneum is the presence of ectopic gas typically between the 5th-10th intercostal spaces after high-energy trauma in the absence of other causes of pseudopneumoperitoneum such as pneumomediastinum 9.
Epidemiology
Occurs with an incidence of 5% post-trauma...
Article
Bennett fracture
A Bennett fracture is a fracture of the base of the thumb resulting from forced abduction of the first metacarpal. It is defined as an intra-articular two-part fracture of the base of the first metacarpal bone.
Radiographic features
Plain radiograph
two piece fracture of the base of the thumb...
Article
Biffl scale for blunt cerebrovascular injury
The Biffl scale or grade illustrates the spectrum of blunt cerebrovascular injury (BCVI) seen on angiography (both CTA and DSA). Some authors refer to the grading scale as the Denver scale, which is not to be confused with the Denver criteria, a series of clinical indications to screen for blunt...
Article
Bilateral facet dislocation
A bilateral facet dislocation is an unstable flexion distraction type of dislocation of the cervical spine, often a result of buckling force. Occasionally, the bilateral facet dislocation has been named a 'doubly-locked' vertebral injury giving the impression of stability. However, due to comple...
Article
Bipartite scaphoid
A bipartite scaphoid is a rare example of a divided carpus. There is controversy whether this condition is congenital (i.e. normal variant) or post-traumatic. Bipartite scaphoids may be unilateral or bilateral.
Diagnostic criteria have been proposed 3:
no history of traumatic injury
normal ap...
Article
Birth fracture of the clavicle
Birth fractures of the clavicle occur in 0.5-1% of vaginal deliveries and are the most frequent birth-related fracture. They are most commonly seen following normal, uncomplicated births but there is recognized increased incidence with high birth weight babies, forceps delivery and shoulder dyst...
Article
Birth trauma
Birth trauma (a.k.a. birth injury) relates to those conditions caused by both physical/mechanical and hypoxic injuries.
Epidemiology
Birth trauma occurs in ~5 per 1000 births 2.
Risk factors
asphyxia
breech presentation
shoulder dystocia
instrument delivery
macrosomia
obstructed labor
...
Article
Blast injury
Blast injuries are injuries sustained due to the energy released during a rapid chemical or nuclear reaction or the escape of gas under high pressure. They can affect numerous organ systems.
Epidemiology
Blast injuries may occur in any number of situations including in combat, in industrial ac...
Article
Blood pressure
The blood pressure (BP) is defined as the force exerted by the circulating blood on the walls of the blood vessels. Fundamentally the blood pressure depends upon the interaction of:
blood volume
cardiac contractility
compliance of the arterial walls
Blood pressure is traditionally measured i...
Article
Blunt cardiac injury
Most commonly a result of sudden deceleration or direct precordial impact, blunt cardiac injury (BCI) encompasses a spectrum of structural and functional cardiac derangements which may occur after trauma to the heart 7.
Terminology
While sometimes referred to with general terms such as "cardia...
Article
Blunt cerebrovascular injury
Blunt cerebrovascular injury (BCVI), sometimes called blunt cervicovascular injury or blunt carotid and vertebral artery injury, refers to a spectrum of injuries to the cervical carotid and vertebral arteries due to blunt trauma.
Epidemiology
It is often part of multi-trauma with a significant...
Article
Blunt traumatic neck injury
Blunt traumatic neck injury is uncommon because it is usually protected by the head, shoulders, and chest. This term is generally used to refer to injuries of the neck besides to cervical spine injuries, which are common.
Pathology
Blunt injury to the neck is most commonly from motor vehicle ...
Article
Body imaging
Body imaging is the term assigned to cross-sectional imaging of the body, which radiologically refers to the chest, abdomen and pelvis. It is often used by radiologists who report this region (sometimes known as body imagers/radiologists) to differentiate their primary area of interest from othe...
Article
Bone bruise
Bone bruises (also known as bone contusion, trabecular microfracture) are an osseous injury that results from compression of bone structures.
Pathology
Bone bruises represent trabecular microfractures with hemorrhage and without a discrete fracture line or contour abnormality 4. They typically...
Article
Bosworth fracture
The term Bosworth fracture is no longer used. However, it was classically used to refer to a fracture-dislocation of the ankle in which there was fracture of the fibula and posterior dislocation of the talus.
History and etymology
Named after David M Bosworth (1897-1979), orthopedic surgeon fr...
Article
Bowel and mesenteric trauma
Bowel and mesenteric trauma can result from blunt force, penetrating and iatrogenic trauma.
Epidemiology
The bowel and mesentery are injured in ~2.5% (range 0.3-5%) of blunt force abdominal trauma 1,3,5,8. However not surprisingly, bowel and mesenteric injuries are more frequent after penetrat...
Article
Bowing fracture
Bowing fractures are incomplete fractures of tubular long bones in pediatric patients (especially the radius and ulna) that often require no intervention and heal with remodeling.
Epidemiology
Bowing fractures are almost exclusively found in children. However, there have been several case repo...
Article
Boxer fracture
Boxer fractures are minimally comminuted, transverse fractures of the 5th metacarpal neck, and are the most common type of metacarpal fracture.
A boxer's knuckle is a separate entity, which is a tear of the metacarpophalangeal joint sagittal band that causes subluxation of the associated exten...
Article
Brachial plexus injuries
Brachial plexus injuries are a spectrum of upper limb neurological deficits secondary to partial or complete injury to the brachial plexus, which provides the nerve supply of upper limb muscles.
Clinical presentation
Trauma, usually by motor vehicle accidents, involves severe traction on the ...
Article
Brain herniation
Brain herniation, also referred to as acquired intracranial herniation, refers to shift of brain tissue from its normal location, into an adjacent space as a result of mass effect. It is a life-threatening condition that requires prompt diagnosis.
Pathology
There are a number of different pat...
Article
Broken heart sign
The broken heart sign, also known as the Y sign in older otorhinolaryngology literature 2,3, describes the appearances of incudomalleolar disarticulation.
This sign is identified on CT in the coronal plane, being formed by the widening of the incudomalleolar joint and lateral displacement of th...
Article
Bronchial fracture (mnemonic)
A mnemonic for the features of a bronchial fracture on a chest radiograph is:
Ps (or written as PPP or PPPP)
Mnemonic
Ps: progressive or persistent pneumothorax or pneumomediastinum
Article
Bucket handle fracture (disambiguation)
Bucket handle fracture may refer to:
bucket handle fracture - non-accidental injury
bucket handle fracture of the pelvis
Article
Bucket handle mesenteric injury
Bucket handle mesenteric injuries are avulsions of the mesentery off a bowel segment (the handle) due to shearing forces in blunt trauma to the bowel and mesentery. Laceration of the mesenteric vessels results in intestinal ischemia.
Clinical presentation
The most common mechanism of injury in...
Article
Buckle rib fracture
Buckle rib fractures are incomplete fractures involving only the inner cortex. They typically occur due to an anterior compressive force to the chest, most commonly external cardiac massage, but can be seen following any such traumatic injury.
Pathology
Buckle rib fractures occur in all ages, ...
Article
Burst fracture
Burst fractures are a type of compression fracture related to high-energy axial loading spinal trauma that results in disruption of the posterior vertebral body cortex with retropulsion into the spinal canal.
Clinical presentation
They usually present as back pain and or lower limbs neurologi...
Article
Burst lobe
A burst lobe is an uncommonly used description of traumatic lobar intraparenchymal hemorrhage of the brain that ruptures into the subdural space and communicates with subdural hemorrhage 1.
As traumatic hemorrhages are more common in the frontal and temporal lobes, these lobes are the most affe...
Article
Butterfly fragment (fracture)
Butterfly fragments are large, triangular fracture fragments seen commonly in comminuted long bone fractures. The term is commonly used in orthopedic surgery, and results from two oblique fracture lines meeting to create a large triangular or wedge-shaped fragment located between the proximal an...
Article
Buttress plate
Buttress plates are osteosynthetic implants commonly used in the metaphyseal area for internal fixation of articular fractures to support intraarticular fragments.
Usage
They are used to counteract vertical shear forces during axial loading in the metaphyseal area and to prevent sliding/shorte...
Article
Calcaneal fracture
Calcaneal fractures are the most common tarsal fracture and can occur in a variety of settings.
Epidemiology
The calcaneus is the most commonly fractured tarsal bone and accounts for about 2% of all fractures 2 and ~60% of all tarsal fractures 3.
Pathology
Calcaneal fractures can be divided ...
Article
Calcaneal tuberosity avulsion fracture
Avulsion fractures of the calcaneal tuberosity are rare, accounting for only 3% of all calcaneal fractures.
Pathology
There are three mechanisms of action 4:
fall during plantarflexion
ankle hyperextension
feet fixed on the ground with sudden muscular contraction
Associations
There is a s...