Abstract
An 18 year old man with congenital basilar invagination developed multiple lower cranial nerve (CN) palsies including CN IX to XII after a traffic accident. Computed tomography of his skull base revealed a two part atlas Jefferson fracture. Normally, lower cranial nerves (CN IX-XII) pass through a space between the styloid process and the atlas transverse process. Atlas burst fractures rarely cause neurological deficits because of a greater transverse and sagittal diameter of the spinal canal at the atlas, and a tendency of the lateral masses to slide away from the cord after injury. However, when associated with a rare condition-congenital basilar invagination-atlas fractures can compromise the space and make CN IX-XII more vulnerable to compression injury. This report discusses the correlation between the anatomical lesions and clinical features of this patient.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 782-784 |
Number of pages | 3 |
Journal | Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry |
Volume | 75 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - May 2004 |
Externally published | Yes |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology
- Neuroscience(all)
- Psychiatry and Mental health