Adhesive fracture surfaces have a topology that is affected by the type or mode of applied loading that induced the separation. In fracture mechanics these modes are commonly designated as I, II, and III, identified primarily with normal separation, sliding shear, and rotational shear, respectively. When the energy per unit area required to create new fracture surface, ε α (ergs/cm 2) is measured, it is common practice to associate this area with the projected fracture area on the fracture plane irrespective of the actual surface topography. Hence the ratio of actual to projected fracture area introduces a perhaps artificial variation into the deduced value of fracture energy, which otherwise might turn out to be more of a universal (time-temperature dependent) quantity, independent of mode of loading. The paper describes the qualitative SEM fractrographic analysis conducted for adhesive debonds between polyurethane and polymethylmethacrylate. This analysis tends to explain part of the apparent differences in ε α when deduced from different loading modes, and hence should put us closer to relating the continuum mechanic deductions for ε α to more fundamental parameters of the molecular systems.