Much force is required to produce fractures of the shaft of the femur. They tend to be displaced due to muscle action upon the fracture fragments. The superficial femoral artery may be injured with complex fractures of the distal femur.
AP radiograph of the distal femur. This demonstrates a comminuted, overriding fracture of the distal femur. There is profound osteopenia.
Lateral radiograph of the distal femur.
Axial CT. The distal femur demonstrates the severely thinned cortex along with the fracture.
Axial CT. This image shows the comminution of this distal femur fracture.
