Bone Biology
A 45-year-old man sustains a closed tibial shaft fracture treated with an intramedullary nail. At 6-week follow-up, radiographs show a fluffy callus surrounding the fracture site. The patient is weight-bearing with minimal discomfort. You explain the biological healing process to a medical student. Regarding fracture healing:
Mark each as TRUE or FALSE
Fracture healing occurs through primary (direct) or secondary (indirect) pathways; primary healing r...
Secondary healing phases: inflammatory (haematoma, cytokines, days 1-7), soft callus (fibroblasts, c...
Primary healing produces abundant callus; secondary healing requires absolute stability; remodelling...
Factors affecting healing include: local factors (blood supply, infection, soft tissue damage, exten...
Delayed union is healing that is slower than expected (typically no healing at 3-6 months); nonunion...
Answer the questions to see explanations
Click T (True) or F (False) for each option