Abstract
The occipito-vertebral region consists of an osseous complex, the inferior part of the occipital bone, the atlas and the axis, joined together by ligaments and articulations. It protects the medulla and the upper part of the spinal cord. It partly allows the mobility of the head, especially its rotation. It sustains the vertebral arteries which give blood supply to a part of the brain and to the medulla; because of their tortuous course, they are well adapted for the movements of the head over the neck. It allows the passage of the cervical roots (Hohl and Baker, 1964). Injuries of this area may involve each of the osseous or ligamentous elements or several together and be responsible for simple or more complex fractures, with or without displacement, for luxations and for dislocations with or without instability. These lesions may cause neurological or vascular disorders.
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© 1983 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Vigouroux, R.P., Reynier, Y., Baldini, M. (1983). Traumatic Lesions of Cranio-Cervical Junction. In: Samii, M., Brihaye, J. (eds) Traumatology of the Skull Base. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-69172-0_26
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-69172-0_26
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