[Whiplash injury of the cervical spine]. / Schleudertrauma der Halswirbelsäule.

Whiplash injury is a common trauma of the cervical spine which usually occurs during motor vehicle accidents, especially involving rear-end collisions. The trauma typically results from a sudden biphasic movement of the head and cervical spine (reclination followed by inclination), which may cause an injury of bony, muscular and ligamentous elements. The most common symptoms of whiplash injury are pain, stiffness and tenderness of the neck, which occur with a latency of several hours and may become chronic in some patients. The imaging studies rarely demonstrate morphological changes associated with trauma and there are also no specific imaging findings in whiplash injuries. Plain films and computed tomography are used in acute trauma workup to exclude bony injuries. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may demonstrate occult fractures, bone contusions as well as muscular and ligamentous posttraumatic lesions. The whiplash injuries are classified clinically according to Quebec Task Force-Grading, depending on the symptom severity.

[Spinal cord ischemia]. / Spinale Ischämie.

Spinal cord ischemia is a rare disease with a poor prognosis. As with cerebral ischemia, spinal infarction typically presents with sudden symptom onset and variable clinical manifestation (depending on the lesion location). The majority of spinal ischemias occur in the supply territory of the anterior spinal artery, involving the anterior and middle third of the myelon. The most common cause of spinal ischemia is an arterial vessel occlusion, although venous ischemia and hypotensive watershed infarcts may also occur. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) represents the modality of choice for diagnosis of spinal cord ischemia.

[Spinal tumors]. / Spinale Tumoren.

Spinal tumors are often classified into three anatomical compartments on the basis of their relationship to the dural space and myelon. The most common primary spinal neoplasms are glial tumors (ependymoma, astrocytoma), nerve sheath tumors (schwannoma, neurofibroma) and meningioma. Metastases represent another common tumor entity and can occur in every spinal compartment. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the most important noninvasive method for spinal tumor imaging.