Pyogenic Infections of the Spine Sang Do Kim Andrea M. Simmonds Zeeshan M. Sardar Introduction Pyogenic infections of the spine include septic discitis, vertebral osteomyelitis, septic facet arthritis, and epidural…

Atypical Infections Shaleen Vira Nancy Worley Cyrus Jalai Peter G. Passias Introduction The most common etiology of an infectious process in the spine is a pyogenic infection from Staphylococcus aureus….

Surgical Site Infections Andrew J. Schoenfeld Andrew W. Cleveland III Introduction Surgical site infections are among the most common complications following spine surgery and may present in as many as…

Lumbar Spine Injuries and Sports Robert G. Watkins IV Marc A. Agulnick Camden B. Burns Mark G. Grossman Epidemiology Low back pain usually affects an athlete at some point. This…

Cervical Spine Injuries and Sports Marc A. Agulnick Camden B. Burns Robert G. Watkins IV Mark G. Grossman The cervical spine is a concerning site of injury in sports. Most…

Gunshot Injuries to the Spine Robert F. Heary John C. Quinn Introduction Civilian gunshot wounds have reached epidemic proportions in the United States. Every year, approximately 100,000 Americans are victims…

Spinal Cord Injury Jay M. Zampini Mitchel B. Harris Introduction Traumatic injury to the spinal cord can result in devastating loss of neurologic functions. Deficits may vary, from minimal observable…

Thoracic and Lumbar Trauma Chambliss C. Harrod Devan Moody Gregory D. Schroeder Alexander R. Vaccaro Thoracolumbar fractures are common injuries affecting over 700,000 individuals annually. Fractures can range from low-energy…

Cervical Trauma Khalid M. I. Salem Charles G. Fisher Introduction Cervical spine injury is common. There is a bimodal distribution with one peak observed among the young (15 to 24…

Adjunct Diagnostic Studies – I Examination and Diagnostics Eugene Carragee Heidi Prather T. Joseph Malbrough Most diagnoses in patients with spinal disorders can be made on the basis of clinical…