Can somebody give me a pathophysiology of comminted fracture of the femur.. ?
Question:
Answers:
Comminuted means: A fracture in which the bone is splintered or crushed into numerous pieces.
Pathophysiology means: The functional changes associated with or resulting from disease or injury. Since the patients story is about a vehicular accident, it results from injury not disease.
Pathophysiology of the femur: The distal femur is funnel shaped, and the area where the stronger diaphyseal bone meets the thinner and weaker metaphyseal bone is prone to fracture with direct or indirect trauma.
Pathophysiology:
The hip joint is a large multiaxial ball-and-socket synovial joint, enclosed by a thick articular capsule. The hip joint is designed for stability and a wide range of movement. Next to the shoulder, it is the most moveable of all joints. During standing, the entire weight of the upper body is transmitted to the heads and necks of the femurs. The round head of the femur articulates with the cuplike acetabulum. The depth of the acetabulum is increased by the reinforcing fibrocartilaginous labrum, which “grasps” the femoral head, covering more than half of it. Articular cartilage covers the entire head of the femur, except for the pit (fovea) for the ligament of the femoral head.
The strong, loose fibrous capsule permits free movement of the hip joint, attaching proximally to the acetabulum and transverse acetabular ligament. The fibrous capsule attaches distally to the neck of the femur only anteriorly at the intertrochanteric line and root of the greater trochanter. Posteriorly, the fibrous capsule crosses to the neck proximal to the intertrochanteric crest without attaching to it. The fibrous capsule thickens to form 3 ligaments of the hip joint: the Y-shaped iliofemoral ligament (of Bigelow), the pubofemoral ligament, and the ischiofemoral ligament.
The hip joint is further supported by the femur and the muscles that cross the joint; this bone and these muscles are the largest and most powerful in the human body. The length, angle, and narrow circumference of the femoral neck permit substantial range of motion at the hip but also subject the femoral neck to incredible shearing forces. A fracture results when these forces exceed the strength of the bone. The intertrochanteric line is an oblique line that connects the greater and lesser trochanters, dividing the femoral neck from the shaft. Hip fractures involve fracture of any aspect of the proximal femur, from the head to the first 4-5 cm of the subtrochanteric area.
The 2 surgeries that could be performed:
Internal fixation. Internal fixation involves stabilizing broken bones with surgical screws, rods, pins, or plates. This type of surgery is usually used in people who have fractures in which the bones can be properly aligned.
Arthroplasty. Arthroplasty involves replacing part or all of the joint with artificial (usually metal) parts. A partial hip replacement may be done to replace the broken upper part of the thighbone (femur) with artificial parts. In some cases a total hip replacement can be done if the hip joint area was already damaged before the fracture by arthritis or an injury and the joint was not functioning correctly. Additionally, arthroplasty is often done for femoral neck fractures when the fractured bones cannot be properly aligned.
I am not sure if this is what you want, but trying to help.
Click these links if you would like more info:
http://www.emedicine.com/orthoped/topic3...
http://www.emedicine.com/emerg/byname/fr...
http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/hip-f...
"Comminuted fracture of femur" or "comminuted femur fracture" is the correct spelling. A comminuted fracture is one in which the bone is splintered or crushed into a number of pieces.
You can, of course, search on your own now that we've got the correct spelling. Good luck with your case study!
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