title: Cervical spine fractures and soft tissue injuries.
abstract: Spinal cord injury is the major cause of quadriplegia and disability. Plain radiographs have a low sensitivity for identifying traumatic cervical spine lesions. Therefore trauma victims with plain films negative for cervical injury but with a high clinical suspicion of injury, or positive for cervical injury should undergo CT or MR for a more definitive evaluation of the cervical spine. Besides the higher sensitivity than plain radiography in detecting fractures, CT is also able to show soft-tissue abnormalities. MR is the definitive modality in assessing cervical soft-tissue injuries, especially in the evaluation of the spinal cord, intervertebral discs, and ligaments. It also allows differentiate spinal cord hemorrhage and edema, which may have a prognostic value. The role of medical imaging in the evaluation of whiplash injuries remains to be determined.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Universitair Ziekenhuis Antwerpen, University of Antwerp, Belgium.
authors.forename: J W M
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Van Goethem
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ozsarlak
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Parizel
mesh_terms: D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000293:injuries*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007403:Intervertebral Disc / Q000293:injuries; D004204:Joint Dislocations / Q000175:diagnosis; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D017695:Soft Tissue Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis*; D016103:Spinal Fractures / Q000175:diagnosis*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014911:Whiplash Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis