Why Aren't Limb-Bone Breaks Fatal?

[EarlJam]

Okay, been trying to sleep but it's 400 degrees in here, my mind is racing, and well, for SOME reason this just popped into my head.

Seems to me, if one breaks a leg or an arm, that there is a VERY good chance the force of trauma/impact that caused the breakage, combined with the sharp edges of the broken bones, would often sever an artery, leading to death.

How do you break a freakn' bone without splitting a tender artery?

I'm glad this isn't often the case, but why isn't it? Can someone in the medical community here explain this to me?

Thanks,

-EarlJam

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Back in the olden days, severe compound fractures were sometimes fatal. Then someone started putting a tourniquet on the leg to stop the bleeding, and started putting splints on so the person could get around. Through trial and many errors, medical treatment evolved. So unless Fordgrl00 ties you up, breaks your leg multiple times with a tire iron and keeps you prisoner until you bleed to death, you should be fairly safe. ;)

[CameronBornAndBred]

Back in the olden days, severe compound fractures were sometimes fatal. Then someone started putting a tourniquet on the leg to stop the bleeding, and started putting splints on so the person could get around. Through trial and many errors, medical treatment evolved. So unless Fordgrl00 ties you up, breaks your leg multiple times with a tire iron and keeps you prisoner until you bleed to death, you should be fairly safe. ;)

[TillyGalore]

IIRC, arteries are like muscle as they contract and relax to push oxygenated blood through your body, thus they are not very tender. The capillaries are more tender, but you don't lose a lot of blood when capillaries, you just get a bruise.

I don't think a compound fracture was deadly, it was the infection as a result of the compound fracture that could be fatal.

Mind you, I'm not a doctor. But, I have stayed at a Holiday Inn Express.

[lawgrad91]

A broken femur (thigh bone) can be fatal, I learned in EMT class many moons ago, but for the life of me, I can't remember why.

A broken lemur, however, is a very sad thing.

[DukeUsul]

Broken femur can probably cause a rupture of the femoral artery.

Sent from my Droid Incredible using Tapatalk.

[bjornolf]

A broken femur (thigh bone) can be fatal, I learned in EMT class many moons ago, but for the life of me, I can't remember why.

A broken lemur, however, is a very sad thing.

Tilly is right. Arteries are pretty tough. It's pretty rare to rupture an artery just from breaking a bone. Plus, the arteries are placed in areas where the bone doesn't usually break IN the direction of the artery. The other poster was also correct that people died more often from infections with severe breaks than anything else.

Femur breaks are not, in and of themselves, fatal. However, in a healthy adult, the femur is strong enough that an accident that causes enough trauma to the body to break the femur often does enough damage to the rest of the body to be fatal. Also, the femur is one of the few places on the body that has a decent chance of rupturing the artery if it breaks the right way. Also, the femoral artery is one of the few arteries that is big enough to bleed you out rapidly that is also in a limb. The brachial artery of the upper arm will do that as well, but I think it's not quite as fast as the femoral artery.

[EarlJam]

A broken femur (thigh bone) can be fatal, I learned in EMT class many moons ago, but for the life of me, I can't remember why.

A broken lemur, however, is a very sad thing.

Tilly is right. Arteries are pretty tough. It's pretty rare to rupture an artery just from breaking a bone. Plus, the arteries are placed in areas where the bone doesn't usually break IN the direction of the artery. The other poster was also correct that people died more often from infections with severe breaks than anything else.

Femur breaks are not, in and of themselves, fatal. However, in a healthy adult, the femur is strong enough that an accident that causes enough trauma to the body to break the femur often does enough damage to the rest of the body to be fatal. Also, the femur is one of the few places on the body that has a decent chance of rupturing the artery if it breaks the right way. Also, the femoral artery is one of the few arteries that is big enough to bleed you out rapidly that is also in a limb. The brachial artery of the upper arm will do that as well, but I think it's not quite as fast as the femoral artery.

So if I don't wan....I mean, if, hypothetically, a person's roommate were to break his upper leg, the chances of extermination are much greater than in the arms? If (and this is a VERY big "IF") someone were tied up and you wanted to sever an artery, would it be best to make a jagged slice across the femoral artery or a clean, 45-degree cut across said artery?

-EarlJam

[captmojo]

They just ain't makin' folks like they used to.

The limb-bone just ain't connected to the fatal-bone no mo'.

[lawgrad91]

EJ, you are NOT talking about Fordgrl, right?

Okay, since this is a hypothetical discussion, I would think a jagged cut would be more of a problem to the victim than a straight one. There have been documented cases of people who survived cuts to major arteries and veins because the wound was blocked by the cutting implement (in other words, take the knife out after the cut) or because the injury was sealed off quickly. Jagged wounds typically do not seal themselves off and are difficult to apply pressure to.

[lawgrad91]

[TillyGalore]

EJ, you are NOT talking about Fordgrl, right?

Okay, since this is a hypothetical discussion, I would think a jagged cut would be more of a problem to the victim than a straight one. There have been documented cases of people who survived cuts to major arteries and veins because the wound was blocked by the cutting implement (in other words, take the knife out after the cut) or because the injury was sealed off quickly. Jagged wounds typically do not seal themselves off and are difficult to apply pressure to.

Sounds like someone watches too much Law & Order or CSI. ;) ;) ;)

[CameronBornAndBred]

Sounds like someone watches too much Law & Order or CSI. ;) ;) ;)

That is not possible.

[lawgrad91]

No, just enjoying my job a little too much!

[Lavabe]

A broken femur (thigh bone) can be fatal, I learned in EMT class many moons ago, but for the life of me, I can't remember why.

A broken lemur, however, is a very sad thing.

And a broken femur on a lemur can also be fatal. ;)

[bjornolf]

EJ, you are NOT talking about Fordgrl, right?

Okay, since this is a hypothetical discussion, I would think a jagged cut would be more of a problem to the victim than a straight one. There have been documented cases of people who survived cuts to major arteries and veins because the wound was blocked by the cutting implement (in other words, take the knife out after the cut) or because the injury was sealed off quickly. Jagged wounds typically do not seal themselves off and are difficult to apply pressure to.

Either a jagged or a 45 degree cut would be bad. Arteries are built to pulse, and are sheathed in muscle-like fibers that contract to push the blood at force. If you make a perfectly straight, clean cut across an artery, it will actually clamp down and bleeding won't be nearly as bad. If you make an angled or jagged cut in the artery, it can't clamp, and the blood pumps out faster.

[colchar]

A broken femur (thigh bone) can be fatal, I learned in EMT class many moons ago, but for the life of me, I can't remember why.

My younger brother broke his femur and we didn't even know it, we just thought he had the worst charlie horse in the history of mankind. It wasn't until he had knee surgery a couple of years later and the surgeon informed my parents that his broken femur had never set properly so he had sawed a bit of bone off of it while he was in there, that we even knew he had broken it. Funniest thing is that he only stayed off the football field for 3-4 days when he had the 'charlie horse' and then went back to playing. There is no way the broken femur was healed at that point so he must have been playing on a broken femur for at least a couple of weeks.

[Miles]

A broken femur (thigh bone) can be fatal, I learned in EMT class many moons ago, but for the life of me, I can't remember why.

My younger brother broke his femur and we didn't even know it, we just thought he had the worst charlie horse in the history of mankind. It wasn't until he had knee surgery a couple of years later and the surgeon informed my parents that his broken femur had never set properly so he had sawed a bit of bone off of it while he was in there, that we even knew he had broken it. Funniest thing is that he only stayed off the football field for 3-4 days when he had the 'charlie horse' and then went back to playing. There is no way the broken femur was healed at that point so he must have been playing on a broken femur for at least a couple of weeks.

My buddy fractured the fifth metatarsel in his foot. He thought it was just a bad bruise so he kept running on it. That eventually caused the small fracture to become a very large fracture. Just seeing the look on his face when it finally broke all the way was one of the worst faces I've ever seen someone make. He looked like walking death.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Broken fifth metatarsals, the curse of Duke big men. Let's hope that no one does that this year!