How do bones mend?
When a bone is broken, the pieces are held together for several weeks so that they can grow together properly. New bone material slowly forms between the pieces.
The healing process begins when blood from broken blood vessels forms a clot.
After a few days, the broken ends of the bone become soft and the space between them fills with a sticky 'glue' which contains bone forming cells.
A bone may break or fracture in several ways. A simple fracture is one in which the two ends remain in position and not much damage is done to the surrounding tissue.
In a compound fracture, the broken bone pierces the skin. In other fractures, blood vessels may also get damaged along with the bone.
