Upward displacement of the odontoid process into the foramen magnum: a palaeopathological case

An upward displacement of the odontoid process into the foramen magnum was observed in the skeletal remains of a young male unearthed from a 14th to 17th century cemetery in the north-eastern Italy. Examination of skull bone vestiges and computed tomography scan analysis of the axis exhibited a clear-cut contact zone between the odontoid process and the anterior border of the foramen magnum. In addition, the odontoid process appeared backward...