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Compression Fractures

A compression fracture is a collapse of a vertebra. It may be due to trauma or due to a weakened vertebra in a patient with osteoporosis or osteogenesis imperfecta. In healthy patients it is most often seen in individuals suffering extreme vertical shocks, such as ejection seats. Seen in lateral views in plain x-ray films, compression fractures of the spine characteristically appear as wedge deformities, with greater loss of height anteriorly than posteriorly and intact pedicles in the anteroposterior view.