Nonunion

Hypertrophic nonunion of the tibia

Nonunion is permanent absence of healing following a fracture unless intervention (such as surgery) is performed. A fracture with nonunion generally forms a structural resemblance to a fibrous joint, and is therefore often called a "false joint" or pseudoarthrosis (the Greek stem "pseudo-" means false and "arthrosis" means joint).

The diagnosis is generally made when there is no healing between two sets of projectional radiography. This is generally the case after 6–8 months.