A 7-year-old boy is in the emergency department with a greenstick fracture of the ulna. How will the nurse explain the fracture to the parents?
1. The bone is broken across the growth plate.
2. There is a splintering of the bone on one side.
3. There is a separation of the bone at the fracture site.
4. The bone is broken into several fragments.
Answer: 2
Greenstick fracture refers to splintering of the bone, not a complete fracture. The name comes from the splintering effect in attempts to break a "green stick." It is a common fracture in children. A comminuted fracture (bone is broken into several fragments) has multiple bone fragments and is more common in adults. Greenstick fractures do not affect the growth plate and there is no bone separation. (Lewis 8 ed, p. 1590).