ABC of major trauma. Trauma of the spine and spinal cord--I.

Any 14 Cervical spine 40 Thoracic spine 10 Thoracolumbar junction 35 Lumbar spine 3 A patient with serious multiple injuries is rarely able to provide a coherent history. Injuries that carry a risk of death or severe disability must, therefore, be suspected from the outset so that correct early management can be instituted. Any patient with trauma who is not fully conscious should be assumed to have an injury of the cervical spine until proved otherwise. The thoracolumbar spine must also be managed carefully. The commonest reason for failing to detect an important spinal injury is failure to suspect one, particularly in patients with multiple trauma; but sometimes a serious injury is considered minor.