The FX medical abbreviation almost always means fracture, which is the medical word for a broken bone. It is written FX, Fx or fx, and it appears on X-ray reports, emergency notes, orthopedic plans and splint or cast orders.
The medical abbreviation for fracture is so common that clinicians rarely spell the word out in quick notes. You may also see it inside other shorthand, such as Fx hx for fracture history. In radiation oncology, though, fx stands for fraction, meaning one treatment session, so the setting matters. This guide explains how to read fracture notes, the descriptive words that come with them, and how to decide which one a note intends.
At a glance
Stands for
Fracture (broken bone)Other meanings
Fraction, one session of radiation therapyWritten as
FX, Fx, fx; Fxs for more than oneSpecialty
Orthopedics, emergency medicine, radiology, sports medicineWhere you see it
X-ray reports, ER notes, cast and splint orders, referralsDo not confuse with
FHx (family history) and Hx (history)
Why the fx medical abbreviation ends in an x
The x in many medical shorthand terms is a stand in, not a letter that belongs to the word. Fracture becomes fx, history becomes Hx, diagnosis becomes Dx, treatment becomes Tx and symptoms become Sx. The pattern lets clinicians write quickly while keeping the first letter as a clue.
A fracture and a break mean exactly the same thing. Some people believe a fracture is a small crack and a break is more serious, but in medicine any loss of continuity in a bone is a fracture, from a hairline crack to a bone in several pieces.
Reading an fx line on an X-ray report
Radiology and emergency notes describe a fracture with a short string of terms.
| Shorthand | Meaning |
|---|---|
| XR L wrist | X-ray of the left wrist |
| nondisplaced | The bone ends are still lined up |
| distal radius | The end of the forearm bone nearest the wrist, on the thumb side |
| fx | Fracture |
| Splint | A partial cast that supports the area while swelling settles |
| ortho f/u 1 wk | Follow up with orthopedics in one week |
Nurse handoff: "Fall on outstretched hand, distal radius fx, splinted, neurovascular checks intact." Neurovascular checks confirm that feeling, movement, color and pulse below the injury are normal.
Fracture medical abbreviation and the words that describe it
An fx is rarely written alone. Descriptive words tell the team how the bone broke and how it might be treated.
- Open or closed: open means the bone has broken through the skin, closed means the skin is intact.
- Displaced or nondisplaced: whether the pieces have moved out of line.
- Comminuted: broken into more than two pieces.
- Greenstick: a partial bend and break, typical in children.
- Stress fracture: a small crack from repeated force rather than one injury.
- Compression fracture: a collapsed spinal bone, often linked with thin bones.
- Pathologic fracture: a break through bone weakened by another condition.
Treatment shorthand that follows an fx
The plan after a fracture depends on the bone, the alignment and the person. Many fractures heal with a splint, cast or brace. Others need the bone pieces moved back into place, called reduction, and some need surgery.
A common surgical term is ORIF, open reduction and internal fixation, in which a surgeon realigns the bone and holds it with plates, screws or rods. Load instructions like WBAT, which lets the person put as much weight on the limb as comfort allows, tell patients and therapists how much load the limb can take. When thin bones are suspected, a BMD scan may be ordered to measure bone density.
The other meaning: fx as fraction in radiation
In radiation therapy, treatment is split into small daily doses called fractions, and the same two letters abbreviate that word.
Radiation plan: "60 Gy in 30 fx." This means a total radiation dose of 60 gray given in 30 separate sessions. It illustrates the notation, nothing more.
If fx appears in a cancer treatment note next to Gy, the unit of radiation dose, it means fraction. Next to a bone name or an X-ray finding, it means fracture. The diagnosis abbreviations page lists other condition shorthand.
What to ask the care team about a break
A few questions can make recovery instructions easier to follow.
- Is the fracture displaced, and will it need to be realigned?
- How much weight or use is allowed, and for how long?
- Which signs, such as numbness, increasing pain or color changes, mean I should call right away?
- When is the next X-ray or follow up visit?
This guide decodes chart shorthand for general understanding. The clinician treating the injury will explain healing time, activity limits and any next steps for you.
Frequently asked questions
What does fx mean in medical terms?
Fx most often means fracture, a broken bone. In radiation therapy notes it can mean fraction, a single treatment session.
What is the medical abbreviation for fracture?
The usual abbreviation is fx, also written Fx or FX. More than one fracture may be written Fxs.
Is a fracture the same as a broken bone?
Yes. In medicine, fracture and broken bone mean the same thing, whether it is a hairline crack or a bone in several pieces.
What does Fx hx mean?
It means fracture history, a record of past broken bones. It is different from FHx, which means family history.