Trauma of the spinal cord in children

The clinical and radiological features in 16 children with trauma of the spinal cord are presented. The extremely low incidence of traumatic paraplegia in children relative to the incidence in adults is noted. In 70% of the paraplegic children no abnormality of the vertebral column was detected by X-ray examination. The value of tomography and myelography in localisation of the site of injury in this group is considered. The pathogenesis of trauma to the spinal cord in children is briefly discussed.