Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Olecranon fractures are rare in children, constituting only 5 to 7% of all elbow fractures. This is because in early life, olecranon is thick, short and much stronger than the lower extremity of the humerus. [5] However, olecranon fractures are a common injury in adults. This is partly due to its exposed position on the point of the elbow.
The olecranon is situated at the proximal end of the ulna, one of the two bones in the forearm. [1] When the hand faces forward the olecranon faces towards the back (posteriorly). It is bent forward at the summit so as to present a prominent lip which is received into the olecranon fossa of the humerus during extension of the forearm. [2] [3]
Elbow fractures are any broken bone in or near the elbow joint and include olecranon fractures, supracondylar humerus fractures and radial head fractures. [1] The elbow joint is formed by three different bones: the ulna, radius, and humerus that permit the joint to move like a hinge and allow a person to straighten and bend their arm and these bones are connected by tendons, ligaments, and ...
unstable spinal fracture-dislocation at the thoracolumbar junction: Thoracic Spine Fractures and Dislocations at eMedicine: Hume fracture: A.C. Hume: olecranon fracture with anterior dislocation of radial head: Ronald McRae, Maxx Esser. Practical Fracture Treatment 5th edition, page 187. Elsevier Health Sciences, 2008.
The posterior fat pad is normally pressed in the olecranon fossa by the triceps tendon, and hence invisible on lateral radiograph of the elbow. [3] When there is a fracture of the distal humerus, or other pathology involving the elbow joint, inflammation develops around the synovial membrane forcing the fat pad out of its normal physiologic resting place.
Close to the elbow, the ulna has a bony process, the olecranon process, a hook-like structure that fits into the olecranon fossa of the humerus. This prevents hyperextension and forms a hinge joint with the trochlea of the humerus. There is also a radial notch for the head of the radius, and the ulnar tuberosity to which muscles attach.
Extension is limited by the olecranon reaching the olecranon fossa, tension in the anterior ligament, and resistance in flexor muscles. Forced extension results in a rupture in one of the limiting structures: olecranon fracture, torn capsule and ligaments, and, though the muscles are normally left unaffected, a bruised brachial artery. [12]
While the trochlea together with its associated fossae almost covers a 360° angle, the trochlear notch on the ulna forms a 190° arc and the gap in between allows flexion and extension at the elbow. Maximum elbow flexion and extension is made possible because the two fossae accommodates to coronoid and olecranon processes. [4]