Pauwel's angle

Pauwel's angle is the angle between the line of a fracture of the neck of the femur and the horizontal as seen on an anterio-posterior radiograph.[1] Pauwel's angle is named after the German orthopedist Friedrich Pauwels.[2] Introduced in 1935, this system was the first biomechanical classification for femoral neck fractures, and is still in use.[3]

Clinical Use

An increasing angle leads to a more unstable fracture and an increase in the shear stress at the fracture site. This shear leads to higher rates of nonunion.

Pauwel's Classification

Type Angle
I <30°
II >30°/<50°
III >50° [4]

References

  1. ^ Joshua Blomberg (3 July 2014). "Femoral Neck Fractures". Orthobullets. Archived from the original on 5 August 2020. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
  2. ^ "History". Unfallchirurgie Universitätsklinikum Aachen. 2014. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved September 4, 2014.
  3. ^ Shen, Min; Wang, Chen; Chen, Hui; Rui, Yun-feng; Zhao, Song (2016-12-12). "An update on the Pauwels classification". Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Research. 11 (1): 161. doi:10.1186/s13018-016-0498-3. ISSN 1749-799X. PMC 5154085. PMID 27955672.
  4. ^ "Misinterpretation of Pauwel's Classification". Bone And Joint. 2014. Archived from the original on 2015-11-23. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
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