A case of combined congenital anterior and posterior arch anomaly of C1 vertebra

Abstract

A very rare case of the craniovertebral junction (CVJ) anomaly is

reported owing to its rarity and clinical significance. Computed

tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies

of the cervical spine of a 56 -year-old female patient presented with

head trauma, revealed an anterior midline arch cleft of atlas with

totally aplastic posterior neural arch, as well as anteriorly subluxed

right atlantoaxial joint. The coexistence of a total aplasia of the

posterior neural arch and anterior arch cleft of atlas is very rare.

Congenital anomalies affecting the craniovertebral junction (CVJ)

may mimic traumatic injury in the setting of a previous trauma. In

this presented case, the absence of an associated bone and soft-tissue

edema on the MR imagings helped us to make a differention between

the acute traumatic injury and congenital anomaly

Keywords

• Cervical Atlas,Magnetic Resonance Imaging,X-Ray Computed Tomography

References

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