Cervical hematomyelia as cause of death after mild head injury.

A 55-year-old black man died the day after an automobile accident during which his forehead struck the car's windshield. He was not rendered unconscious. At routine autopsy no cause of death was found by the pathologist. Postmortem neurosurgical consultation disclosed hematomyelia and associated damage of the cervical spinal cord. Review of the literature disclosed that such changes in the spinal cord may be caused by hyperextension injuries of the cervical spine. These findings have been observed both clinically and experimentally. This report deals only with cases of "central cord" trauma without roentgenologic evidence of bony disruption.