Short answers, pulled from the story.
A bone fracture is a partial or complete break in the continuity of a bone, abbreviated Fx or #. Fractures are classified by mechanism (traumatic, pathologic, or periprosthetic), soft-tissue involvement (open or closed), displacement, fracture pattern (linear, transverse, oblique, spiral, compression, avulsion, or comminuted), and anatomical location.
Pain from a bone fracture comes from the periosteum and endosteum, both of which contain multiple pain receptors and are disrupted when bone breaks. Additional pain arises from pressure caused by swelling in the surrounding soft tissue and from involuntary muscle spasms near the fracture site.
In adults, healing bone callus is typically visible on X-ray within six weeks. Bone strength reaches approximately 80 percent of normal by three months after injury. The full remodeling process, in which initial woven bone is replaced by mature lamellar bone, may take up to 18 months.
A closed fracture leaves the overlying skin intact, while an open (compound) fracture involves a wound that communicates with the break or exposes the fracture hematoma. Open fractures carry a significantly higher infection risk: infection after internal fixation rises from 1-2 percent in closed fractures to 30 percent in open ones.
Complications include compartment syndrome, which can lead to amputation if untreated; non-union, where the bone fails to heal; malunion, where it heals deformed; and late complications such as avascular necrosis, osteomyelitis, deep vein thrombosis, and Sudeck's dystrophy. Complications are classified as immediate, early, or late depending on when they occur.
Smokers generally have lower bone density than non-smokers, giving them a higher baseline risk of fractures. Evidence also indicates that smoking delays the bone healing process after a fracture occurs.