Wackenheims line [Neurosurgery Wiki]

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====== Wackenheims line ======

Wackenheims line (also known as the clivus canal line or basilar line) is formed by drawing a line along the [[clivus]] and extending it inferiorly to the upper [[cervical spinal canal]].

{{::wackenheims_line.png?400|}}

Normally the tip of the [[dens]] is ventral and tangential to this line. In [[basilar invagination]] odontoid process transects this line
((Kwong Y, Rao N, Latief K. Craniometric measurements in the assessment of
craniovertebral settling: are they still relevant in the age of cross-sectional
imaging? AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2011 Apr;196(4):W421-5. doi: 10.2214/AJR.10.5339.
PubMed PMID: 21427306.
)).

The [[odontoid]] should be tangential to or below the line that extends the course of the [[clivus]] (the clivus baseline). If the clivus is concave or convex, this baseline is drawn to connect the [[basion]] to the base of the [[posterior clinoid process]] on the clivus
((VanGilder JC, Menezes AH, Dolan KD. In: Radiology of the Normal Craniovertebral Junction. The Cranio- vertebral Junction and Its Abnormalities. NY: Futura Publishing; 1987:29–68)).