All 3 Uses of
fracture
in
Change of Heart, by Picoult
- If the noose is positioned right—there's something about a brass eyelet—the fall causes an instant fracture of the C2 vertebra.†
*
- "From what I imagine," Christian said, "the inmate would be hanged in such a way that the spine would be fractured at C2/C3, which would arrest all spontaneous respiration."†
- The force of the drop, combined with the position of the knot, is what's meant to fracture the cervical vertebrae and separate the spinal cord.†
Definitions:
-
(1)
(fracture) a crack (or break) of a hard object -- such as bone or rock; or the act of cracking or breaking
-
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
Fracture can also be used metaphorically as in "fracture the balance of power."