Updated January 31, 2015.

A fracture is a broken bone. A broken bone is a fracture.

While many people believe that a fracture is a "hairline break," or a certain type of broken bone, this is not true. A fracture and a broken bone are the same thing!

Both of these words mean that the normal bone structure has been disrupted. This does not imply a certain type of treatment, but in general, bones heal best when immobilized. Therefore treatment of a broken bone may require some type of intervention.