minuted_. This method is practical because it
separates dissimilar conditions. There are also grouped fractures, the
pathologic anatomy of which is similar. Classification on an etiological
basis would attempt to associate conditions, the morbid anatomy and
gravity of which would justly preclude their being combined.

Simple Fracture is a condition where the continuity of the bone has
been broken without serious destruction of the soft structures adjacent,
and where no opening has been made to the surface of the flesh. Such
fractures do not reduce the bone to fragments. Long bones are frequently
subjected to simple fracture, while short thick bones, such as the
second phalanx, may suffer multiple or comminuted fractures.

Compound Fracture designates a break of bone with the destruction of
the soft tissues covering it, making an open wound to the surface of the
skin. This form of fracture is serious because of the attendant danger
of infection, and in treatment, necessitates special precaution being
taken in the application of splints that the wound may be cared for
without infection of the tissues. These fractures generally occur as a
result of some forceful impact through the flesh to the bone, or where
the bones are driven outward by the blow. Common examples are in
fractures of the metacarpus and metatarsus of the first phalanx. This
kind of injury in mature horses usually produces an irreparable
condition, and viewed economically, is generally considered fatal.

Comminuted Fractures, as the term implies, are those cases wherein the
bone is reduced to a number of small pieces. This kind of break may be
classified as simple-comminuted fracture when the skin is unbroken, and
when the bone is exposed as a result of the injury, it is known as a
compound-comminuted fracture. Such fractures are caused by violent
contusion or where the member is caught between two objects and
crushed.

Multiple Fractures.

Fractures are called _multiple_ when the bone is reduced to a number of
pieces of large size. This condition differs from a comminuted fracture
in that the multiple fracture may break the bone into several pieces
without the pieces being ground or crushed, and the affected bone may
still retain its normal shape.

Further classification is of value in describing fractures of bone with
respect to the manner in which the bone is broken--the direction of the
fissure or fissures in relation to its long axis.

A frac