A 27 year old woman suffers a fracture of her tibia. The fracture is severe enough that she needs immobilization of the bone as well as the joints both proximal and distal to the bone. How should the cast be applied?
A. Across the elbow
B. From above the elbow to below the wrist
C. From above the knee to below the ankle
D. Across the knee.
I am thinking the answer is C because the tibia is a bone below the knee. I'm confused about proximal and distal but I'm thinking proximal is above the knee and distal is below the ankle.
You are correct that the tibia is a bone below the knee. "Proximal" refers to a location closer to the center of the body, while "distal" refers to a location further away from the center of the body. In the case of the tibia fracture, the proximal end would be above the knee, and the distal end would be below the ankle.
To immobilize both the bone and the joints proximal and distal to the fracture, the cast should be applied from above the knee to below the ankle. Therefore, the correct answer is option C: From above the knee to below the ankle.
It's always helpful to understand anatomical terms like proximal and distal, as they give you important information about the location of structures in relation to the body.