Re: inter vs. intratrochanteric

[Guest guest]

, I went to the Merck & Company web page on the internet and put in the

word intratrochanteric, which came up with no results. I then put in the word

intertrochanteric and found what I have pasted below. I have also looked up

intratrochanteric in all of my reference books but have not been able to find

it, I could only find intertrochanteric. I ran a Google search on

intratrochanteric and came up with 10 hits, many of which were not in English.

I checked two that were in English and found " intra " in only one place on each

of these pages, which I believe were actually misspellings of intertrochanteric.

As yiou can see believe, trochancteric fractures occur between the trochanters

rather than within. Hope this helps, MG

Trochanteric fractures, which occur in the region between the greater and lesser

trochanters, are extracapsular. Trochanteric fractures can result from the

transfer of either direct or indirect forces. An example of a direct force is a

direct blow to the area of the greater trochanter. An example of indirect force

is pressure transmitted along the axis of the femur, for example, by jumping

down from a high stool. Such a force can then be secondarily transferred to the

trochanter. Both types of forces are almost always generated in association with

falls. Patients with trochanteric fractures report falls from a standing height

in 77% to 81% of cases. Trochanteric fractures tend to affect an older

population more often than do femoral neck fractures.

The bone may heal satisfactorily, because the trabecular bone in this area is

well vascularized. Therefore, the problems of nonunion and avascular necrosis

that are encountered with femoral neck fractures are rare following

intertrochanteric fractures.