Congenital Absence of the Posterior Arch of the Atlas – A Strange but Benign Anomaly

Congenital Absence of the Posterior Arch of the Atlas – A Strange but Benign Anomaly

Congenital partial aplasia of the atlas with a posterior arch remnant is rare. It may be found as an incidental radiological finding or patients can present with neurological signs and symptoms after head or neck trauma. A 36-year-old female presented with a 3-day history of right sided neck pain ra...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: EC Tan, HC Soon, M Kevin, BC Se To
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Malaysian Orthopaedic Association 2007-11-01
Series:Malaysian Orthopaedic Journal
Subjects:
Posterior arch of the Atlas
Congenital absence
Posterior tubercle
Online Access:http://morthoj.org/2007v1n2/Posterior-Arch-of-the-Atlas.pdf
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spelling doaj-4ec4b81500564ba5972bbc3ef4ce6c6c2021-05-02T08:21:53ZengMalaysian Orthopaedic AssociationMalaysian Orthopaedic Journal1985-25332007-11-01123032Congenital Absence of the Posterior Arch of the Atlas – A Strange but Benign AnomalyEC Tan0 HC Soon1M Kevin2BC Se To3MS OrthoMS OrthoFRCSFRCSCongenital partial aplasia of the atlas with a posterior arch remnant is rare. It may be found as an incidental radiological finding or patients can present with neurological signs and symptoms after head or neck trauma. A 36-year-old female presented with a 3-day history of right sided neck pain radiating down the right arm. Radiographs of the cervical spine showed a radiolucent area in the region of the posterior arch of the atlas. Computed tomography subsequently revealed partial absence of the posterior arch of the atlas with a defect at the anterior ring. Her clinical condition subsequently improved with rest, analgesia and physiotherapy. This case report illustrates a situation where congenital defect of the posterior arch of the atlas was revealed in a patient with neck pain. Awareness of the existence of this condition will help clinicians avoid misdiagnosis and excessive investigations.http://morthoj.org/2007v1n2/Posterior-Arch-of-the-Atlas.pdfPosterior arch of the AtlasCongenital absencePosterior tubercle
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author EC Tan
HC Soon
M Kevin
BC Se To
spellingShingle EC Tan
HC Soon
M Kevin
BC Se To
Congenital Absence of the Posterior Arch of the Atlas – A Strange but Benign Anomaly
Malaysian Orthopaedic Journal
Posterior arch of the Atlas
Congenital absence
Posterior tubercle
author_facet EC Tan
HC Soon
M Kevin
BC Se To
author_sort EC Tan
title Congenital Absence of the Posterior Arch of the Atlas – A Strange but Benign Anomaly
title_short Congenital Absence of the Posterior Arch of the Atlas – A Strange but Benign Anomaly
title_full Congenital Absence of the Posterior Arch of the Atlas – A Strange but Benign Anomaly
title_fullStr Congenital Absence of the Posterior Arch of the Atlas – A Strange but Benign Anomaly
title_full_unstemmed Congenital Absence of the Posterior Arch of the Atlas – A Strange but Benign Anomaly
title_sort congenital absence of the posterior arch of the atlas – a strange but benign anomaly
publisher Malaysian Orthopaedic Association
series Malaysian Orthopaedic Journal
issn 1985-2533
publishDate 2007-11-01
description Congenital partial aplasia of the atlas with a posterior arch remnant is rare. It may be found as an incidental radiological finding or patients can present with neurological signs and symptoms after head or neck trauma. A 36-year-old female presented with a 3-day history of right sided neck pain radiating down the right arm. Radiographs of the cervical spine showed a radiolucent area in the region of the posterior arch of the atlas. Computed tomography subsequently revealed partial absence of the posterior arch of the atlas with a defect at the anterior ring. Her clinical condition subsequently improved with rest, analgesia and physiotherapy. This case report illustrates a situation where congenital defect of the posterior arch of the atlas was revealed in a patient with neck pain. Awareness of the existence of this condition will help clinicians avoid misdiagnosis and excessive investigations.
topic Posterior arch of the Atlas
Congenital absence
Posterior tubercle
url http://morthoj.org/2007v1n2/Posterior-Arch-of-the-Atlas.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT ectan congenitalabsenceoftheposteriorarchoftheatlasastrangebutbenignanomaly
AT hcsoon congenitalabsenceoftheposteriorarchoftheatlasastrangebutbenignanomaly
AT mkevin congenitalabsenceoftheposteriorarchoftheatlasastrangebutbenignanomaly
AT bcseto congenitalabsenceoftheposteriorarchoftheatlasastrangebutbenignanomaly
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