A bone break that pierces or ruptures through the skin is called a:

• A. Compound fracture
• B. Simple fracture
• C. Stress fracture
• D. Greenstick fracture

Answer: (A)

Open fractures occur when the broken bone breaks through the skin, exposing the bone and surrounding tissue. This is why the term compound fracture is used—“open” means there is a skin wound with the bone exposed. This contrasts with a simple (closed) fracture, where the skin remains intact. A stress fracture is a small crack from repetitive stress and usually does not involve any skin break, while a greenstick fracture is an incomplete break where the bone bends and cracks on one side, often in children, with the skin still intact. Because the bone is exposed in an open fracture, there’s a higher risk of infection and bleeding, so urgent medical care is typically required to clean the wound, stabilize the bone, and determine the need for antibiotics or surgery.