Extract
Among children, cervical spinal injuries are rare. When they do
occur, younger children sustain more upper cervical injuries than older
children
do1,2.
The spinal anatomy of children (i.e., a disproportionately large head,
wedge-shaped vertebrae, and horizontally oriented facets) is different than
that of adults and offers little resistance to the high shear forces that
predominate in falls and/or motor-vehicle
accidents1-5.The tip of the odontoid process is not ossified at birth. The chondrum
terminale is a cartilaginous epiphysis at its apex. Fusion of the terminale to
the rest of the dens, if it happens at all, does not take place until a child
is between ten and thirteen years of age. This physis is a potential weak spot
at the C1-C2 junction.