Distal radius fracture with volar displacement is called Colles fracture; anterior displacement is Smith fracture. Which fracture is characterized by volar displacement of the distal radius?

• A. Smith fracture
• B. Colles fracture
• C. Barton fracture
• D. Monteggia fracture

Answer: (B)

In distal radius fractures, the name reflects the direction the distal fragment moves. Colles fracture describes a distal radius fracture with dorsal (posterior) displacement, typically from a fall on an outstretched hand and producing a dinner-fork deformity. Smith fracture is the opposite: it has volar (anterior) displacement of the distal fragment, often from a fall onto a flexed wrist and sometimes called a reverse Colles. So when the distal fragment moves toward the palm side (volar), the fracture is a Smith fracture.