This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Stages of fracture healing

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

The different stages of fracture healing are outlined below:

  • haematoma: there is tissue damage and bleeding at the site of the fracture. There is death of bone for a few millimetres back from the fracture line.
  • inflammation and cellular proliferation: there is an acute inflammatory reaction within 8 hours of the fracture with proliferation of cells under the periosteum and within the breached medullary canal.
  • callus formation: the cell population changes to osteoblasts and osteoclasts; the dead bone is mopped up and there is the appearance of woven bone in the fracture callus.
  • consolidation: lamellar bone replaces woven bone and the fracture is solidly united.
  • remodelling: the crude 'weld' is reshaped by continuous process of alternating bone resorption and formation to resemble the normal structure.

Create an account to add page annotations

Add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation, such as a web address or phone number. This information will always be displayed when you visit this page