Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2017 Aug 8;9(8):e1551.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.1551.

Os Odontoideum: A Comprehensive Clinical and Surgical Review

Fareed Jumah  1 , Saja Alkhdour  1 , Shaden Mansour  1 , Puhan He  2 , Ali Hroub  1 , Nimer Adeeb  3 , Rimal Hanif  3 , Martin M Mortazavi  4 , R Shane Tubbs  5 , Anil Nanda  3
Affiliations
Review

Os Odontoideum: A Comprehensive Clinical and Surgical Review

Fareed Jumah et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Os odontoideum (OO) is a rare anomaly of the odontoid process first described by Giacomini in 1886. There is considerable debate about the origin of this anomaly, whether congenital or acquired, though a growing body of evidence favors the latter. Using PubMed, we reviewed the literature on OO with regards to its etiology, clinical presentations, diagnostic modalities, and management. Manuscripts cited in reviews were also searched manually. Because the medical literature on this condition is limited, our understanding of the natural history and management of OO is still vague. The management guidelines for asymptomatic OO are preliminary. Therefore, we need more large-center studies to investigate this condition further.

Keywords: c2; cervical; dens; fracture; odontoid; os odontoideum; review; spine.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Spine imaging showing the two anatomic subtypes of os odontoideum: dystopic (Panel A) and orthotopic (Panel B)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Reducible and irreducible os odontoideum in childhood treated with posterior wiring, instrumentation and fusion. Past or present? Visocchi M, Fernandez E, Ciampini A, et al. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00701-009-0277-6. Acta Neurochir. 2009;151:1265–1274. - PubMed
    1. Os Odontoideum. Fielding JW, Hensinger RN, Hawkins RJ. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7364809. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 1980;62:376–383. - PubMed
    1. "Orthotopic" ossiculum terminale persistens and atlantoaxial instability in a child less than 12 years of age: a case report and review of the literature. Viswanathan A, Whitehead WE, Luerssen TG, et al. Cases J. 2009;2:8530. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Segmentation defect in the midodontoid process and its possible relationship to the congenital type of os odontoideum. Currarino G. Pediatr Radiol. 2002;32:34–40. - PubMed
    1. Craniocervical developmental anatomy and its implications. Menezes AH. ChNS. 2008;24:1109–1122. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources