Pathology of spinal cord injuries due to fracture-dislocations of the thoracic and lumbar spine

Abstract

The pathology of intervertebral disc injuries, hyper-extension injuries and spinal cord injuries due to fracture-dislocations of the cervical spine has been reported previously. Between 1957 and 1987, autopsy was performed on 4 patients with fracture-dislocation of the thoracic spine and on one patient with that of the lumbar spine. This paper presents the results of a clinicopathologic study conducted on two patients with a fracture-dislocation of the thoracic spine and on one patient with that pathology of the lumbar spine. The methods employed in the present study are the same as those that were described in my previous report on the pathology of cervical inter-vertebral disc injuries.