Diagnosis of skull fractures by autopsy and radiology.

Abstract

Fifteen human cadaver heads after fixation in formalin were studied. Half of them were exposed to force applied fronto-occipitally. In the remainder the force was applied roughly vertically from the parietal bone towards a line connecting the two internal acoustic pores. The loads were increased until a fracture had occurred. The analysis was based on both halves of each head. Total number of fractures detected by autopsy and radiology. Formula: (See Text). Those who remember that the conditions of X-rays of live subjects are substantially more complicated than those of a severed cadaver head will certainly be very cautious when examining X-ray material for signs of a fracture of the skull basis under clinical conditions. Our data are based on fifteen skulls. It must nevertheless be assumed that results obtained from a larger number of samples would not differ appreciably.