Anatomic location of spinal cord injury. Relationship to the cause of injury.

In a population based sample, 550 of 619 people with fatal and nonfatal spinal cord injuries were classified according to the cause of injury and according to the anatomic location of the highest spinal cord injury. Motor vehicle occupants accounted for 42% of the people with spinal cord injuries. Sixty percent of those injured had a cervical cord injury, 25% a thoracic cord injury, and 15% a lumbosacral cord injury. The specific anatomic locations most commonly injured were at C1 (12% of all spinal cord injuries), C6 (9%), and L2 (5%). The anatomic site of injury was significantly (P less than 0.001) related to the cause of injury. Thirty-seven percent of the spinal cord injuries from firearms and 97% of those from diving were located in the cervical cord. In contrast, 68% of spinal cord injuries to motor vehicle occupants were cervical; 17% at C1. The distribution of injuries among drivers was similar to that among other occupants.