greenstick fracture

American  

[green-stik] / ˈgrinˌstɪk /

noun

1. an incomplete fracture of a long bone, in which one side is broken and the other side is still intact.

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greenstick fracture British  

/ ˈɡriːnˌstɪk /

noun

1. a fracture in children in which the bone is partly bent and splinters only on the convex side of the bend

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Etymology

Origin of greenstick fracture

First recorded in 1880–85; green + stick ¹

Example Sentences

They range all the way from a "greenstick" fracture, where the bone is cracked half through and split longitudinally, to a compound fracture, where the shattered bone juts through the skin.

From Time Magazine Archive

In either case, the bending may be increased by the traction of muscles, and sometimes by the occurrence of greenstick fracture.

From Manual of Surgery Volume Second: Extremities—Head—Neck. Sixth Edition. by Miles, Alexander

In the limbs, the prominent features are the deficient growth in length of the long bones, the enlargements at the epiphysial junctions, and the bending, and occasional greenstick fracture, of the shafts.

From Manual of Surgery Volume First: General Surgery. Sixth Edition. by Thomson, Alexis

There may be an angular displacement—for example, in greenstick fracture.

From Manual of Surgery Volume Second: Extremities—Head—Neck. Sixth Edition. by Miles, Alexander

The clavicle or humerus may sustain greenstick fracture from the child being lifted by the arms; the femur, by a fall.

From Manual of Surgery Volume First: General Surgery. Sixth Edition. by Thomson, Alexis