Com·mi·nute v. t. [imp. & p. p. Comminuted; p. pr. & vb. n. Comminuting.]  To reduce to minute particles, or to a fine powder; to pulverize; to triturate; to grind; as, to comminute chalk or bones; to comminute food with the teeth.
 Comminuted fracture. See under Fracture.

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 Frac·ture n.
 1. The act of breaking or snapping asunder; rupture; breach.
 2. Surg. The breaking of a bone.
 3. Min. The texture of a freshly broken surface; as, a compact fracture; an even, hackly, or conchoidal fracture.
 Comminuted fracture Surg., a fracture in which the bone is broken into several parts.
 Complicated fracture Surg., a fracture of the bone combined with the lesion of some artery, nervous trunk, or joint.
 Compound fracture Surg., a fracture in which there is an open wound from the surface down to the fracture.
 Simple fracture Surg., a fracture in which the bone only is ruptured. It does not communicate with the surface by an open wound.
 Syn: -- Fracture, Rupture.
 Usage: These words denote different kinds of breaking, according to the objects to which they are applied. Fracture is applied to hard substances; as, the fracture of a bone. Rupture is oftener applied to soft substances; as, the rupture of a blood vessel. It is also used figuratively. “To be an enemy and once to have been a friend, does it not embitter the rupture?”


 comminuted fracture
      n : fracture in which the bone is splintered or crushed