Medical Dictionary

Colles' fracture

noun Col·les' fracture \ˈkäl-əs-, ˈkäl-ˌēz-\

Medical Definition of COLLES' FRACTURE

:  a fracture of the lower end of the radius with backward displacement of the lower fragment and radial deviation of the hand at the wrist that produces a characteristic deformity—compare smith fracture

Biographical Note for COLLES' FRACTURE

Col·les \ˈkäl-əs\ , Abraham (1773–1843), British surgeon. Colles' enduring contributions are his anatomical description of the fascia of the perineum in 1811, his description of a fracture at the distal end of the radius (Colles' fracture) in 1814, and his clinical observations in 1837 on the contagion of syphilis.

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