IT IS THE purpose of this paper to discuss briefly the diagnosis of the ruptured intervertebral disk in the cervical region and to correlate the clinical aspects of the syndrome with the pathologic-anatomic changes responsible. It is hoped that the report of this series of cases may contribute in some measure to the excellent reports that have been published about this clinical entity.
The ruptured cervical disk as a neurosurgical problem is nothing new, and there are numerous articles dating as far back as 1928 that deal with the ailment. In Stookey's work1 the gross anatomic foundation of the clinical syndrome is clearly explained. His division into three clinical varieties based on the location of the intraspinal mass not only simplifies the conception of the condition but seems the only rational way of classification.
Stookey's group of 7 cases includes 6 cases of cord compression of one or both