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Is there fracture at talus

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Reading File
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Finding Sources
Looking at the X-ray in your photo carefully:
What this image actually shows
  • It's labeled "FOOT" (mirrored text at the bottom of the film) - this is an AP/dorsoplantar view of the foot, not a dedicated ankle series.
  • Visible bones: all 5 toes (phalanges), the 5 metatarsals, and the proximal tarsal bones (cuneiforms, cuboid, navicular). The image is cropped just at the hindfoot, with a large bony mass at the very bottom edge.
  • The talus body and dome are not adequately included in this view. On a plain foot radiograph, at most only the talar head (where it meets the navicular) is partially seen - the talar dome and posterior body, which is where most talus fractures occur and need to be assessed, require a dedicated ankle series (AP, lateral, and mortise views).
About the line crossing the metatarsals There's a straight horizontal line running across the mid-foot in your photo. This does not look like a fracture line - true fracture lines follow bone contours and don't continue uniformly through soft tissue/background. This line is dead straight, crosses multiple unrelated bones and the dark background equally, which is typical of a scratch or crease artifact on the film, or a reflection off the lightbox glass (visible in your photo, since you photographed a screen/lightbox rather than a raw DICOM image).
Bottom line
  • Based on what is actually visible in this specific film, I cannot identify a definite fracture in the visible tarsal/metatarsal bones, and this view does not adequately show the talus to rule in or out a talar fracture.
  • Talus fractures (e.g., neck, body, lateral process/"snowboarder's fracture", posterior process) are clinically significant because the talus has a tenuous blood supply and displaced fractures carry real risk of avascular necrosis, so they should not be missed - Rockwood and Green's Fractures in Adults, 10th ed.
  • If there's clinical concern (ankle/hindfoot pain, swelling, inability to bear weight after trauma), the correct next step is a proper ankle X-ray series (and CT if plain films are equivocal but suspicion remains high), reviewed by a radiologist or treating physician - not a re-read of this foot film alone.
I can't give you a definitive fracture/no-fracture verdict on the talus from this image because the talus itself isn't well captured in this shot. If you can share the ankle-specific radiographs (AP, lateral, mortise) I'm happy to look again.
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