NCJ Number
186707
Journal
Legal Medicine Volume: 2 Issue: 1 Dated: March 2000 Pages: 49-53
Date Published
March 2000
Length
5 pages
Annotation
Based on a case study, this article reports on the mechanism of a traumatic avulsion fracture of the occipital condyles and clivus in a fatal traffic accident.
Abstract
A 25-year-old male was found dead on a river bank. Wounds and injuries were found on the corpse, and a bloodstain was found on the face from blood discharged from the oral and nasal cavities. Since the man was considered to be the victim of a traffic accident, a forensic autopsy was performed. At the time of the autopsy, severe bruises and wounds were found on the occipital condyles through the lower part of the clivus, and the head was unstable in relation to the neck. The medulla oblongata was severed near the fracture site, and the basilar artery was also torn at the branching end of the posterior cerebral arteries. The fracture of the occipital condyles and clivus was considered to be avulsed due to hyperflexion of the neck joint by a blunt impact onto the occiput. Anterior traction of the skull following the fracture was supposed to have accompanied the injuries to the medulla oblongata and the basilar artery. In this case, the authors observed an unusual type of fracture in the posterior cranial fossa. 2 figures, 1 table, and 15 references