Sagittal fracture of the cervical spine

Sagittal fracture of the second cervical vertebral body

We describe a patient with a sagittal fracture of the second cervical vertebral without neurological involvement. The mechanism is likely to be axial compression and lateral displacement. The fracture was treated in a Minerva plaster cast.

The axial load teardrop fracture. A biomechanical, clinical and roentgenographic analysis

The anteroinferior cervical vertebral body corner fracture was originally described by Schneider and Cann as the "teardrop" fracture. This report analyzes the biomechanical, clinical, and roentgenographic features of 55 such fractures obtained from the National Football Head and Neck Injury Registry. Teardrop fractures resulting from tackle football characteristically occurred in players attempting to make a tackle in which initial contact was made with the top or crown of the helmet. There were two fracture patterns associated with the anteroinferior corner (teardrop) fracture fragment: 1) the isolated fracture, which is usually not associated with permanent neurologic sequelae; and 2) the three-part, two-plane fracture in which there is an associated sagittal vertebral body fracture as well as fracture of the posterior neural arch. This latter pattern was almost always associated with permanent neurologic sequelae, specifically quadriplegia. Axial loading of the cervical spine was clearly identified as a mechanism of injury for both fracture patterns. Roentgenographic examination must include both anteroposterior and lateral views with computed tomography or tomography as necessary to determine the presence of the sagittal vertebral body fracture and the integrity of the posterior neural arch.

Sagittal fractures of the cervical spine

Two cases of sagittal fracture of cervical vertebral bodies have been studied. The findings indicate that the fractures were a consequence of forces directed forwards against the posterior surfaces of the vertebral bodies due to flattening of the vertebral rings in an anterior--posterior direction.