Fractures are broken bones that produce swelling and pain.

• A. Fractures
• B. Dislocations
• C. Sprains
• D. Strains

Answer: (A)

Recognizing signs of a broken bone is what this item tests. When a bone is broken, swelling and pain are common responses from tissue damage and bleeding around the fracture, as well as from irritating nerves in the area. That combination is typical of fractures because the injury involves a break in the bone itself.

A dislocation involves the joint losing its normal alignment, which can cause pain and swelling too, but the key feature is joint misalignment rather than a bone break. Sprains are injuries to ligaments around a joint, causing swelling and pain without necessarily involving a bone break. Strains affect muscles or tendons and also produce pain and swelling, but bones aren’t broken in a strain. So the description best fits a fracture, a broken bone.