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American Dictionary of the English Language

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Fracture


FRAC'TURE, noun [Latin fractura. See Break.]

1. A breach in any body, especially a breach caused by violence; a rupture of a solid body.

2. In surgery, the rupture or disruption of a bone. A fracture is simple or compound; simple, when the bone only is divided; compound, when the bone is broken, with a laceration of the integuments.

3. In mineralogy, the manner in which a mineral breaks, and by which its texture is displayed; as a compact fracture; a fibrous fracture; foliated, striated or conchoidal fracture etc.

FRAC'TURE, verb transitive To break; to burst asunder; to crack; to separate continuous parts; as, to fracture a bone; to fracture the skull.