extension

(ex-ten’shun) [L. erten’sio]. 1. The movement by which the two ends of any part are pulled asunder. 2. A movement which brings the members of a limb into or toward a straight condition. Bardenheuer's e., extension for fractured limbs with longitudinal, transverse, and rotary pulls, designed to produce extension in all the directions in which the muscles which cause the displacement act. Buck’s e., the extension of a fractured leg by weights, the foot of the bed being raised so that the body makes counter extension. nail e., extension exerted on the distal fragment of a fractured bone by means of nails which are driven into the fragment.