Broken leg bones. Coloured X-rays of fractures in the bones of the lower leg. On the left is a side view of the fractures and on the right a frontal view. The larger bone is the tibia (shin bone) and the thin bone is the fibula. The fractures shown are severe and the bone may have punctured the skin (a compound fracture) and become exposed to external infection. Treatment may require using metal pins to realign the bones.