A Barton's fracture is a type of wrist injury where there is a

broken bone A bone fracture (abbreviated FRX or Fx, Fx, or #) is a medical condition in which there is a partial or complete break in the continuity of any bone in the body. In more severe cases, the bone may be broken into several fragments, known as a ' ...

associated with a dislocated bone in the wrist, typically occurring after falling on top of a bent wrist. It is an intra-articular fracture of the

distal radius The radius or radial bone is one of the two large bones of the forearm, the other being the ulna. It extends from the lateral side of the elbow to the thumb side of the wrist and runs parallel to the ulna. The ulna is usually slightly longer than ...

with dislocation of the radiocarpal joint. There exist two types of Barton's fracture – dorsalDorsal Barton's Fracture / Dorsal Shearing Frx – Wheeless' Textbook of Orthopaedics
/ref> and palmar, the latter being more common. The Barton's fracture is caused by a fall on an extended and pronated wrist increasing carpal compression force on the dorsal rim. Intra-articular component distinguishes this fracture from a Smith's or a Colles' fracture. Treatment of this fracture is usually done by open reduction and internal fixation with a plate and screws, but occasionally the fracture can be treated conservatively.

Eponym

It is named after John Rhea Barton (1794–1871), an American surgeon who first described this in 1838.J. R. Barton. Views and treatment of an important injury of the wrist. Medical Examiner, Philadelphia, 1838, 1: 365–368.

Additional images

$Radiograph of Barton's fracture$

References

External links

* Bone fractures {{injury-stub