Traumatic dislocation of the cervical spine without neurological deficit. Eleven cases.

The authors present 11 cases of traumatized patients without neurological deficit in spite of a gross dislocation of the cervical spine. In the effort of explaining this discrepancy various parameters have been taken into account. The vertebral canal has been noted to be abnormally wide in these cases (average 19.8 mm). The authors suggest that the great width of the vertebral canal has in some way prevented the spinal cord of these patients being damaged by the dislocation.