out of joint. A fall from horseback, a carriage, or a bicycle may result
in a dislocation of the shoulder joint. In playing baseball a swift ball
often knocks a finger out of joint. A dislocation must be reduced at once.
Any delay or carelessness may make a serious and painful affair of it, as
the torn and bruised parts rapidly swell and become extremely sensitive.

60. Broken Bones. The bones, especially those of the upper limbs, are
often fractured or broken. The _simple_ fracture is the most common
form, the bone being broken in a single place with no opening through the
skin. When properly adjusted, the bone heals rapidly. Sometimes bones are
crushed into a number of fragments; this is a _comminuted_ fracture.
When, besides the break, there is an opening through the soft parts and
surface of the body, we have a _compound_ fracture. This is a serious
injury, and calls for the best surgical treatment.

A bone may be bent, or only partly broken, or split. This is called "a
green-stick fracture," from its resemblance to a half-broken green stick.
This fracture is more common in the bones of children.

Fractures may be caused by direct violence, as when a bone is broken at a
certain point by some powerful force, as a blow from a baseball bat or a
fall from a horse. Again, a bone may be broken by indirect violence, as
when a person being about to fall, throws out his hand to save himself.
The force of the fall on the hand often breaks the wrist, by which is
meant the fracture of the lower end of the radius, often known as the
"silver-fork fracture." This accident is common in winter from a fall or
slip on the ice.

Sometimes bones are broken at a distance from the point of injury, as in a
fracture of the ribs by violent compression of the chest; or fracture may