RESUMEN
An adult male skeleton was submitted to the Department of Anatomy at the University of Belgrade for evaluation. It was believed to represent the remains of a second to third century Christian saint from the Lesje Monastery in central Serbia. Examination of the remains revealed an old crush fracture of a thoracic vertebra and an unusual, probably congenital, malformation of the atlanto-occipital joint with deformation of the left occipital condyle and resultant narrowing of the foramen magnum. Although the occipital malformations were most likely congenital, they may still have caused, or contributed to, death by compression of the underlying upper cervical spinal cord.
Asunto(s)
Articulación Atlantooccipital/anomalías , Lesiones por Aplastamiento/patología , Santos/historia , Vértebras Torácicas/lesiones , Adulto , Foramen Magno/anomalías , Foramen Magno/diagnóstico por imagen , Antropología Forense , Historia Antigua , Humanos , Masculino , Hueso Occipital/anomalías , Hueso Occipital/diagnóstico por imagen , Religión y Medicina , Serbia , Cráneo/anatomía & histología , Vértebras Torácicas/patología , Tomografía Computarizada por Rayos XRESUMEN
The ACTA-scanner, a device for computerized axial tomography, permits cross-sectional radiographic study of the entire human body, including the spine. In the ACTA-scan, the spinal cord appears as a roundish formation surrounded by the less dense subarachnoidal cerebrospinal fluid. The spines of 18 patients with verified (nine cases) or suspected (nine cases) syringomyelia were studied by ACTA-scanning. In seven of the verified and in four of the nonverified cases, some evidence of cord cavitation was shown. The cystic part of a cervical-cord ependymoma was also demonstrated. ACTA-scanning is an easily performed, noninvasive, innocuous procedure. This technic, which complements other radiographic methods of evaluating the spinal cord, is particularly suitable for screening and follow-up study of patients with syringomyelia. The easily accomplished recognition of a possible associated hydrocephalus is an added advantage of ACTA-scanning.