Peripheral nerve injury accompanying a fracture

Where it sits after a fracture

Nerve injury is one of three local injuries grouped together as immediate, within hours to days, and early, within 2 to 12 weeks. The two rows above it in the same group are visceral injury, whose examples are rib fractures taking lungs with pneumothorax, liver, kidney and spleen, and pelvic fractures taking bladder and urethra; and vascular injury.

When the nerve is injured

The nerve can be injured at the time of presentation, or due to treatment. The vascular row beside it gives the same two routes in full: the vessel is cut, torn, compressed or contused, either by the initial injury, or subsequently by swelling, bone fragments, reduction manoeuvres or surgery.

Which nerve goes with which fracture

Three worked examples are given, each an image with the nerve drawn on it and named:

• Radial nerve, the first example, named with the nerve alone
• Acetabular fractures and hip dislocation: sciatic nerve
• Supracondylar fracture: brachial artery and anterior interosseous nerve, so a vessel and a nerve are at risk in the same injury

The vascular row is given the same way, and its two names are femoral artery and popliteal artery.