Meaning of term in autopsy: "C2 fracture with full division"

Posted by nyli @nyli, Jun 2, 2020

I had a relative killed in an accident and am reading their autopsy report and it has the following, "C2 fracture with full division." Does this mean the spinal cord was severed? Or is there another meaning I'm not aware of?

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Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | Jun 3, 2020

Hi @nyli, welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. I'm sorry for the loss of your family member.
Here is an article describing C2 fractures:
- Characteristics and Management of Emergency Department Patients Presenting with C2 Cervical Spine Fractures https://www.hindawi.com/journals/bmri/2019/4301051/

To interpret the autopsy report and know for sure if "full division" in this case means severed, it would be best to contact the medical examiner. What has you looking into the details of the autopsy at this point in time? How are you doing with the loss?