Stanley, Vanderveer, and
Young cite instances of intrauterine fracture of the thigh; in
the case of Stanley the fracture occurred during the last week of
gestation, and there was rapid union of the fragments during
lactation. Danyau, Proudfoot, and Smith mention intrauterine
fracture of the tibia; in Proudfoot's case there was congenital
talipes talus.
Dolbeau describes an instance in which multiple fractures were
found in a fetus, some of which were evidently postpartum, while
others were assuredly antepartum. Hirschfeld describes a fetus
showing congenital multiple fractures. Gross speaks of a
wonderful case of Chaupier in which no less than 113 fractures
were discovered in a child at birth. It survived twenty-four
hours, and at the postmortem examination it was found that some
were already solid, some uniting, whilst others were recent. It
often happens that the intrauterine fracture is well united at
birth. There seems to be a peculiar predisposition of the bones
to fracture in the cases in which the fractures are multiple and
the cause is not apparent.
The results to the fetus of injuries to the pregnant mother are
most diversified. In some instances the marvelous escape of any
serious consequences of one or both is almost incredible, while
in others the slightest injury is fatal.
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