Items tagged “trauma”

Segond fracture is an avulsion fracture of the knee that involves the lateral aspect of the tibial plateau and is very frequently (~75% of cases) associated with disruption of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). On the frontal knee radiograph, it may be referred to as the lateral capsular sign...

Seurat spleen is an angiographic appearance seen following blunt trauma to the spleen. Multiple small punctate regions of intraparenchymal contrast extravasation lead to a spotted appearance. Pathology Several mechanisms are thought to to attribute to this appearance which include sinusoidal s...

CT hypoperfusion complex refers to the predominantly abdominal imaging features that occur in the context of profound hypotension. Multiple abdominal organs can display atypical appearances not related to the initial trauma but reflect alterations in perfusion secondary to hypovolemia which affe...

Perilunate dislocations and perilunate fracture-dislocations are potentially devastating closed wrist injuries that are often missed on initial imaging.  These injuries involve dislocation of the carpus relative to the lunate which remains in normal alignment with the distal radius. They should...

Lunate dislocations are an uncommon traumatic wrist injury that require prompt management and surgical repair. The lunate is displaced and rotated volarly. The rest of the carpal bones are in a normal anatomic position in relation to the radius. These should not be confused with perilunate disl...

Scapholunate dissociation, also known as rotary subluxation of the scaphoid, refers to an abnormal orientation of the scaphoid relative to the lunate and implies severe injury to the scapholunate interosseous ligament and other stabilizing ligaments. Carpal dissociation implies carpal instabili...

The Terry-Thomas sign refers to an increase in the scapholunate space on an AP radiograph of the wrist (or coronal CT). The increased distance indicates scapholunate dissociation (often with rotary subluxation of the scaphoid) due to ligamentous injury. There is no consensus as to what measureme...

Chance fractures also referred to as seatbelt fractures, are flexion-distraction type injuries of the spine that extend to involve all three spinal columns. These are unstable injuries and have a high association with intra-abdominal injuries. Pathology Mechanism Chance fracture is also known...

Elbow dislocation is the second most common large joint dislocation in adults and the most common in children.  Epidemiology Elbow dislocations are common and account for 10-25% of all elbow injuries in the adult population 1. They are the most common dislocation in children 4. Associations ...

A joint effusion is defined as an increased amount of fluid within the synovial compartment of a joint. There is normally only a small amount of physiological intra-articular fluid. Abnormal fluid accumulation can result from inflammation, infection (i.e. pus) or trauma and might be exudate, tr...

A pilon fracture is a type of distal tibial fracture involving the tibial plafond. These are considered to represent 1-10% of all lower limb fractures 6.  Mechanism Typically high energy injuries and occur as a result of an axial loading which drives the talus into the tibial plafond. Classif...

Flail chest or flail thoracic segment implies paradoxical motion of a segment of chest wall during respiration due to multiple rib fractures. Definitions vary; radiologists apply the term when three or more contiguous ribs are fractured in two or more places. Clinically, a segment of only one or...

Diaphragmatic rupture often results from blunt abdominal trauma. The mechanism of injury is typically a motor-vehicle collision. Epidemiology Given that the most common mechanism is motor vehicle collisions, it is perhaps unsurprising that young men are most frequently affected. The estimated ...

Anterior superior iliac spine (ASIS) avulsion injuries typically occur in athletes during forceful muscular contraction. The anterior superior iliac spine is the site of attachment for sartorius and tensor fascia latae muscles.  Pathology Anterior superior iliac spine avulsion, like other pelv...

Pneumopericardium represents gas (usually air) within the pericardium, thus surrounding the heart.  Pathology Etiology Underlying causes include: positive pressure ventilation thoracic surgery/pericardial fluid drainage penetrating trauma blunt trauma (rare) infectious per...

Acute aortic syndrome describes the presentation of patients with one of a number of life-threatening aortic pathologies that give rise to similar clinical presentations. Exactly which entities are included under the umbrella term acute aortic syndrome varies somewhat from publication to public...

Urinary bladder trauma describes a spectrum of damage that can be caused to the urinary bladder, usually in the context of significant trauma. Epidemiology Bladder trauma is generally associated with high energy injuries, and is associated with pelvic fractures in the majority of cases 3,6. Th...

Nasal bone fractures are the most common type of facial fractures, accounting for ~45% of facial fractures, and are often missed when significant facial swelling is present.  Clinical presentation Unsurprisingly, nasal bone fractures occur when the nose impacts against a solid object (e.g. fis...

Temporal bone fracture is usually a sequela of significant blunt head injury. In addition to potential damage to hearing and the facial nerve, associated intracranial injuries, such as extra-axial hemorrhage, diffuse axonal injury and cerebral contusions are common. Early identification of tempo...

Longitudinal temporal bone fractures are petrous temporal bone fractures that occur parallel to the long axis of the petrous temporal bone. Although more current classifications of the extent of temporal bone fractures focus on the integrity of the otic capsule rather than the fracture orientati...