greenstick fracture

[green-stik]

noun

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

greenstick fracture

/ ˈɡriːnˌstɪk /

noun

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of greenstick fracture¹

First recorded in 1880–85; green + stick ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of greenstick fracture¹

C20: alluding to the similar way in which a green stick splinters