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Title: Modelling Bone Fractures Using Carrots: Transverse Fracture

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145 views

Title: Modelling Bone Fractures Using Carrots: Transverse Fracture

Uploaded by

rdzskx7xgb
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Title: MODELLING BONE FRACTURES USING CARROTS

Objectives:
1. Students will be familiar with the three kinds of forces leading to bending, compression and torsional
(twisting) stresses
2. Students will be able to apply forces to carrots to model three fractures: transverse, butterfly (a fracture
with three fragments) and spiral fractures.

Background: There are two main factors that will determine how a material will respond to forces. The
cross sectional area of the material under force and the kind of properties that are inherent in the make-up
of the material. Although bone is a brittle material, it has properties that allow it to withstand great forces
during day today activities. There are limits to the bones elasticity, and fractures occur when these limits
are exceeded. (www.nsbri.org/HumanPhysSpace/) As a living tissue, bone requires some stimulus to
maintain its structural integrity. Because astronauts don’t have to stand and support themselves in space,
they don’t create the necessary loading forces on the bones. The result is bone loss similar to that of
individuals who suffer from osteoporosis. As a result they are susceptible to bone fractures.

Materials: Three fresh large carrots per student/group

Procedure:
1. Each student should be given 3 carrots.
2. The teacher will ask the students to predict what kind of fracture will result when a bending force is
applied the carrot.
3. The teacher will demonstrate how to break the carrot by applying a bending force. (See diagram A.1)
4. The students will be asked to predict how the carrot will break if a combination of bending and
compression forces are applied to the carrot. Students will then break the carrot as shown in Diagram
B.1.
5. The same procedure will follow for the third fracture. Torsional or twisting forces will be applied.
(See diagram C.1)
6. Indicate to students that bones and carrots do not always break as cleanly as indicated in the
diagrams.

Transverse fracture

A.1 Direct students to hold the carrot in A.2 The transverse fracture is due to
both hands and apply a bending force as bending. The fracture starts on the side
indicated by the arrows. that is in tension (being stretched).
Butterfly fracture
+ +

B.1 Direct students to apply both bending B.2 The butterfly fracture is due to a
and axial compression to the carrot. combination of compression and bending.
The fracture starts on the side that is in
tension. About half way through the carrot,
the fracture will change direction, and may
even bifurcate. This results in three pieces,
with the inner piece (butterfly fragment)
being on the side that was in compression.

Spiral fracture

C.1 Direct students to twist the carrot. C.2 The spiral fracture is due to torsional
stresses. It spirals around the carrot.
Evaluation: Students will be asked to apply what they have learned by answering the following questions

Question 1. What kind of fracture is indicated in the X-ray shown in panel D.1 below? Can you think of
a situation in which this kind of fracture could have occurred?

D.1 (Brandriss, 2002) D.2

Question 2. What region of the body is shown in panel D.2? What kind of force was applied to the bone
to cause this fracture? Describe a scenario that could lead to this fracture.

Question 3. A patient is admitted to Hip


the emergency room with a fracture
shown in panel E.1. The patient
reported that she was running across
the road when accident happened. As
she placed her weight on her left leg,
she was hit by a car. Is this what
really happened? Is her story
compatible with the type of fracture
seen on the X-ray? Which side of her
leg was struck by the car?

(Answer --- Because the butterfly


fragment is on the right, this is the side
that experienced the impact from the
car.) E.1

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