The spinal manifestations of neurofibromatosis include cervicothoracic kyphosis, in which scalloping of the vertebral body and erosion of the pedicles may render conventional techniques of fixation impossible. We describe a case of cervicothoracic kyphosis managed operatively with a vascularised fibular graft anteriorly across the apex of the kyphus, followed by a long posterior construct using translaminar screws, which allow segmental fixation in vertebral bodies where placement of the pedicle screws was impracticable.

Anterior subluxation of the cervical spine from flexion-rotational violence is often overlooked. Either radiography is omitted or the slight displacement visible on the films is not recognised. A method for recognising these injuries is suggested. Five cases are described showing that in these subluxations the soft-tissue damage is severe, that late increasing displacement can occur, with varying neurological sequelae, and that instability can persist indefinitely. Four of the patients required stabilisation by operation, in contrast with complete dislocations in which 80 to 90 per cent fuse spontaneously.

1. The trends in treatment of cervical dislocation are reviewed.

2. Seventeen patients treated by manual reduction under general anaesthesia are reported.

3. The evidence is that reduction in this way is not dangerous and has advantages over other methods.

1. The literature on paraplegia complicating hyperextension injuries of the cervical spine is reviewed, and the lack of any definite explanation of the mode of interference with cord function is noted.

2. A case is described in which a detailed dissection of the post-mortem specimen was carried out. On the basis of the findings it is suggested that one cause of the suppression of cord function in such injuries is thrombosis of the spinal arteries and liquefaction-necrosis of the cord.

We describe a rare herniation of the disc at the C2/C3 level in a 73-year-old woman. It caused hemicompression of the spinal cord and led to the Brown-Sequard syndrome. The condition was diagnosed clinically and by MRI six months after onset. Discectomy and fusion gave complete neurological resolution.

We report three patients having transoral fusion at C2/3 or C3/4 after fractures, with no infections or surgical complications and sound union. The operative technique and the relative merits of different approaches to the upper cervical spine are discussed and the transoral approach to the anterior aspect of the upper three cervical vertebrae is commended to the specialist surgeon.

1. Four patients with tetraplegia from rheumatoid subluxation occurring in the lower cervical spine are described and the common features are noted.

2. Compression appeared to be responsible for the cord damage, although it was not necessarily directly related to vertebral subluxation. The lesions causing the compression were varied.

3. Forcible attempts to reduce vertebral subluxation may be harmful. Two patients were improved by posterior decompression.

4. A suggested programme for the treatment of such patients is outlined.

1. Sixty myelographs have been obtained in severe traction injuries of the brachial plexus.

2. Seventy-eight traumatic meningoceles were outlined.

3. Multiple meningoceles indicate a gloomy prognosis.

4. In forty patients the results were compared with those obtained with the "axon reflex."

5. Myelography is a valuable aid in obtaining an early prognosis but the results must be correlated with the clinical picture.

1. The spinal branches of the vertebral artery were injected with a suspension of barium sulphate and the blood supply of the vertebral bodies of the lower four or five cervical vertebrae investigated radiologically.

2. Beneath the posterior longitudinal ligament there is a free dorsal arterial plexus from which a large branch arises to enter the back of the vertebral body. This vessel terminates abruptly at the centre of the body where numerous, much smaller, branches radiate towards the upper and lower surfaces.

3. The possible significance of the form of the intravertebral arteries is considered in relation to embolic lesion in vertebral bodies.

We report a case of vertebral osteochondroma of C1 causing cord compression and myelopathy in a patient with hereditary multiple exostosis. We highlight the importance of early diagnosis and the appropriate surgery in order to obtain a satisfactory outcome.

We describe a patient with traumatic right-sided invagination of two consecutive laminae into the spinal canal. The injury resembled a greenstick fracture and resulted in an acute Brown-Séquard syndrome. There was also an undisplaced hangman’s fracture of the axis vertebra. These injuries were caused by an acute hyperextension and axial compression of the cervical spine. Open reduction and internal fixation of the laminar fractures without fusion was followed by full neurological recovery within six weeks.

1. The antero-posterior or sagittal diameter of the cervical spine has been measured radiographically in fifty-one Japanese men who fell into three groups-twenty with normal cervical spines, eleven with spondylosis but no neurological symptoms, and twenty with spondylosis and myelopathy.

2. The average normal diameter was found smaller by 2·25 millimetres in Japanese men than in European adults examined by other authors.

3. The average initial diameter in cases of spondylosis without neurological symptoms was found to be greater than normal, which suggests that the increased space round the cord helps to avoid compression.

4. The average initial diameter in cases of spondylosis with myelopathy was found to be less than normal, which suggests that compression may be determined by moderate osteophyte formation or disc protrusion.

5. The risk of myelopathy would appear to be high when the average diameter is 12 millimetres or less.

6. The difficulty with such radiological measurements is that standard lateral films cannot always record the degree of encroachment by disc protrusion or by hypertrophy of the soft tissues.

1. The deep posterior muscles of the neck are innervated by the posterior branches of spinal nerves, which branch off immediately after the root emerges from the intervertebral foramen. Electromyographic examination of these muscles permits a differential diagnosis to be made between intraforaminal and extraforaminal brachial plexus lesions.

2. The earlier diagnosis and prognosis thus achieved permit definitive treatment, in particular suture of the torn nerve trunks in recent extraforaminal cases.