A bone that is broken, chipped, cracked, or splintered is commonly referred to as a

• A. Fracture
• B. Sprain
• C. Contusion
• D. Dislocation

Answer: (A)

When a bone has a break or a fragment is visible or separated by a crack, the term used is fracture. This label covers any break in the bone, from a small crack to a full break, and it can be closed (skin intact) or open (bone pokes through the skin). The other terms describe different injuries: a sprain is damage to ligaments around a joint, a contusion is a bruise in the soft tissues, and a dislocation happens when a bone ends up out of its normal joint alignment. So, for a bone that’s broken, chipped, cracked, or splintered, the correct term is fracture.