Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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.
2. (Surg.) The breaking of a bone.
3. (Min.) The texture of a freshly broken surface; as, a
compact fracture; an even, hackly, or conchoidal fracture.
{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.
Comminute \Com"mi*nute\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Comminuted}; p.
pr. & vb. n. {Comminuting}.] [L. comminutus, p. p. of
comminuere to comminute; com- + minuere to lessen. See
{Minute}.]
To reduce to minute particles, or to a fine powder; to
pulverize; to triturate; to grind; as, to comminute chalk or
bones; to comminute food with the teeth. --Pennant.
{Comminuted fracture}. See under {Fracture}.
Source : WordNet®
comminuted fracture
n : fracture in which the bone is splintered or crushed