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. Pauwel's angle is named after the German orthopedist Friedrich Pauwels. Introduced in 1935, this system was the first biomechanical classification for femoral neck fractures, and is still in use.
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° |
References
- Joshua Blomberg (3 July 2014). "Femoral Neck Fractures". Orthobullets. Archived from the original on 5 August 2020. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
- "History". Unfallchirurgie Universitätsklinikum Aachen. 2014. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved September 4, 2014.
- 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.
- "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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