title: Fractures of the odontoid: a laboratory and clinical study of mechanisms.
abstract: Previous reports and a study of the mechanism of injury in 25 cases of fracture of the odontoid suggest that the fracture usually results from a high velocity force directed to the head, producing flexion, extension, or rotation of the upper cervical spine. In a laboratory biomechanical study using cadaver preparations, fractures of the odontoid were produced in 20 specimens from the upper cervical spine, which were loaded in failure in forward and lateral modes.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001368:Axis, Cervical Vertebra / Q000293:injuries* / Q000503:physiopathology; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D002102:Cadaver; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D050723:Fractures, Bone / Q000209:etiology* / Q000266:history / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013314:Stress, Mechanical