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Upward displacement of the odontoid process into the foramen magnum: a palaeopathological case
Affiliations- Department of Medicine, Human Anatomy Section, Udine, Italy
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Abstract
An upward displacement of the odontoid process into the foramen magnum was observed in the skeletal remains of a young male unearthed from a 14th to 17th century cemetery in the north-eastern Italy. Examination of skull bone vestiges and computed tomography scan analysis of the axis exhibited a clear-cut contact zone between the odontoid process and the anterior border of the foramen magnum. In addition, the odontoid process appeared backward deviated. Findings suggest a possible diagnosis of basilar impression/invagination. This anomalous contact may cause compression of neural and vascular structures with a multifaceted series of clinical symptoms. We are unable to set our finding into a complete presumptive diagnostic outline because there is no chance to estimate either the magnitude of the whole craniovertebral junction defect but we believe that the present case contributes to the general knowledge of the craniovertebral region and to bone pathology in ancient times.
Abstract
An upward displacement of the odontoid process into the foramen magnum was observed in the skeletal remains of a young male unearthed from a 14th to 17th century cemetery in the north-eastern Italy. Examination of skull bone vestiges and computed tomography scan analysis of the axis exhibited a clear-cut contact zone between the odontoid process and the anterior border of the foramen magnum. In addition, the odontoid process appeared backward deviated. Findings suggest a possible diagnosis of basilar impression/invagination. This anomalous contact may cause compression of neural and vascular structures with a multifaceted series of clinical symptoms. We are unable to set our finding into a complete presumptive diagnostic outline because there is no chance to estimate either the magnitude of the whole craniovertebral junction defect but we believe that the present case contributes to the general knowledge of the craniovertebral region and to bone pathology in ancient times.
Keywords
basilar invagination; basilar impression; odontoid retroflexion; craniovertebral junction; dens height; porotic lesions; paleopathology
About this articleTitle
Upward displacement of the odontoid process into the foramen magnum: a palaeopathological case
Journal
Issue
Article type
Case report
Pages
604-608
Published online
2017-11-28
Page views
1884
Article views/downloads
1506
DOI
Pubmed
Bibliographic record
Folia Morphol 2018;77(3):604-608.
Keywords
basilar invagination
basilar impression
odontoid retroflexion
craniovertebral junction
dens height
porotic lesions
paleopathology
Authors
P. Saccheri
E. Crivellato
F. Toso
L. Travan
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