NECK INJURIES: I. OCCIPITOATLANTAL DISLOCATION--A PATHOLOGIC STUDY OF TWELVE TRAFFIC FATALITIES

Twelve of 155 persons killed in traffic crashes had occipitoatlantal dislocations. Nine were vehicular occupants, 2 were cyclists, and one was a pedestrian. The dislocations involved various combinations of lacerations of the alar ligaments, the occipitoatlantal joint capsules, the dura mater, the tectorial membrane, the rectus capitis muscles, and the suboccipital muscles. In 2 instances, an occipital condyle failed instead of the corresponding alar ligament, producing condyle fractures. Atlas ring fractures occurred in 3 instances. Axial and subaxial cervical trauma were uncommon. Facial or mandibular fractures occurred in a majority of cases, vault skull fractures were uncommon, and basilar fractures were absent. Pontomedullary brainstem lacerations occurred in 9 of the 12, and 4 had midbrain lacerations. The majority of the victims succumbed to acute neurogenic shock as the sole or the major mechanism of death. The biomechanical basis for occipitoatlantal dislocation is discussed, and the author suggests that distraction, in concert with variable combinations of extension, rotation, and posterior translation is responsible for occipitoatlantal dislocations.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/00221198
• Corporate Authors:

  American Society for Testing and Materials

  100 Barr Harbor Drive, P.O. Box C700
  West Conshohocken, PA  United States  19428-2957
• Authors:
  • Adams, V I
• Publication Date: 1992-3

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 556-564
• Serial:
  • Journal of Forensic Sciences
  • Volume: 37
  • Issue Number: 2
  • Publisher: Blackwell Publishing
  • ISSN: 0022-1198
  • EISSN: 1556-4029
  • Serial URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1556-4029

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Biophysics; Cyclists; Fatalities; Injuries; Neck; Pedestrians; Traffic crashes; Vehicle occupants
• Uncontrolled Terms: Motor vehicle accidents
• Old TRIS Terms: Neck injuries
• Subject Areas: Highways; Passenger Transportation; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Safety and Human Factors; I84: Personal Injuries;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00716876
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• Report/Paper Numbers: HS-041 512
• Files: HSL, TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Feb 27 1996 12:00AM