Atlas and axis injuries in fatal motorcycle collisions

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Thom, David R¹; Hugh, Jr, H. Hurt¹; Smith, Terry A.¹; Rehman, Irving²

Atlas and axis injuries in fatal motorcycle collisions

39th Annual Proceedings, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM)

Affiliations

¹Head Protection Research Laboratory, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California

²School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
Abstract

Autopsy data from 304 fatally injured motorcyclists (60 helmeted and 244 unhelmeted) were analyzed for the incidence, location, and mechanism of injury to the upper cervical spine, Atlas (C1) and Axis (C2). Findings include 160 incidences of subluxation, 35 dislocations and 28 fractures. The mechanism and relationship of these injuries to head impacts, head and neck motion, and closely related injuries were examined. The neck motions most often associated with atlas or axis injury were hyperextension and lateral bending.

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Cited By (6)

Year	Entry
2005	López-Valdés FJ, García D, Pedrero D, Moreno JL. Accidents of motorcyclists against roadside infrastructure. In: Gilchrist MD, ed. IUTAM Symposium on Impact Biomechanics: From Fundamental Insights to Applications. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer; 2005:163-170. Solid Mechanics and Its Applications; vol 124.
2003	Wobrock J, Smith T, Kasantikul V, Whiting W. Effectiveness of collision-involved motorcycle helmets in Thailand. In: 47th Annual Proceedings, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM). September 22-24, 2003; Lisbon, Portugal.1-23.
2003	Van Auken RM, Zellner JW, Kebschull SA, Wiley KD, Smith T, Shewchenko N, Rogers NM. Development of neck injury assessment criteria for the ISO 13232 motorcyclist anthropometric test dummy with the revised neck. In: Proceedings of the 18th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV). May 19-22, 2003; Nagoya, Japan.
2005	Van Auken RM, Zellner JW, Smith T, Rogers NM. Development of an improved neck injury assessment criteria for the ISO 13232 motorcyclist anthropometric test dummy. In: Proceedings of the 19th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV). June 6-9, 2005; Washington, DC.
2008	Bass CRD, Crandall JR, Salzar RS, Rafaels K, Damon A, Lucas S. Reinterpreting the neck injury index (NII) using experimental cadaveric tests. In: Proceedings of the 2008 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Impact. September 17-19, 2008; Bern, Switzerland.353-365.
2010	Bass CR, Salzar RS, Lucas SR, Rafaels KA, Damon AM, Crandall JR. Re-evaluating the neck injury index (NII) using experimental PMHS tests. Traffic Inj Prev. 2010;11(2):194-201.