MANAGEMENT OF TRAUMATIC LESIONS OF THE CRANIOVERTEBRAL JUNCTION

Abstract

The craniovertebral junction compnses a complex structure that is composed of bone ligam nt complex, nervous tissues, and vascular structures providing blood supply.104 The cervical spine is the most mobile portion of the spine. The relative motion of the occipito-atlanto-axial region is controlled by the geometry of the surfaces and ligaments and their elastic properties. 104 Bell first described fractures of the occipital condyle in 1817. These injuries are considered to be rare and at this time there are only 35 reported survivors in the literature. 140 Fractures of the fust cervical vertebrae are relatively rare, comprising between 5 and 10 % of all cervical fractures and approximately 2% of all spinal injuries.68 Fractures of C2 (Axis fractures) may be broken down into fractures of the odontoid, fractures through the pars interarticularis (hangman's fractures) and miscellaneous C2 body fractures.129