Fractures.

Recent studies on the epidemiology and repair of fractures are reviewed. The type and severity of the fracture bears a relation to the age, sex and occupation of the patient. Bone tissue after fracture shows a process of inflammation and repair common to all members of the connective tissue family, but it repairs with specific tissue. Cartilage forms when the oxygen supply is outgrown. After a fracture, the vascular bed enlarges. The major blood supply to healing tissue is from medullary vessels and destruction of them will cause necrosis of the inner two-thirds of the cortex. Callus rapidly mineralizes, but full mineralization is achieved slowly; increased mineral metabolism lasts several years after fracture.