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Sagittal Balance Concept Applied to the Craniovertebral Junction

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Surgery of the Cranio-Vertebral Junction

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Abstract

This chapter describes details of the craniovertebral junction that pertain to alignment of the spine. Foremost in our understanding is the discovery of how and why Hominidae came to this evolutionary point. The relationship of the craniovertebral junction to the subaxial spine is dynamic and displays a “fine tuning” contribution to sagittal balance of both the neck and the overall spine. Degenerative conditions of the cervical spine affect this as will instability, malformations, and trauma. Finally, cognizance of alignment contributions from the craniovertebral junction are particularly relevant when operating on the CVJ.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Spine Unit, Bordeaux University Hospital, Bordeaux, France

    Ibrahim Obeid & Derek T. Cawley

Authors
  1. Ibrahim Obeid
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  2. Derek T. Cawley
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Neurosurgical Unit, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland

    Enrico Tessitore

  2. Department of Neurosurgery, North Shore University Hospitals, Manhasset, NY, USA

    Amir R. Dehdashti

  3. Neurosurgical Unit, ASL Napoli 2 Nord, Naples, Italy

    Claudio Schonauer

  4. Department of Neurosurgery, Innsbruck University Hospitals, Innsbruck, Austria

    Claudius Thomé

Glossary

CVJ

Craniovertebral junction including occiput to axis (O-C1-C2, OC2)

SAS

Subaxial spine, including C2-C7

OC1

Occipito-atlantal joint

C1C2

Atlanto-axial joint

SVA

Sagittal vertical alignment

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Obeid, I., Cawley, D.T. (2020). Sagittal Balance Concept Applied to the Craniovertebral Junction. In: Tessitore, E., Dehdashti, A., Schonauer, C., Thomé, C. (eds) Surgery of the Cranio-Vertebral Junction. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18700-2_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18700-2_5

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-18699-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-18700-2

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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