A mother is on trial for the death of her 9-month old child. The prosecutors cla

Question

A mother is on trial for the death of her 9-month old child. The prosecutors claim is that the child died as a result of shaken baby syndrome from being violently shaken. The defense asserts that the child’s head became stuck in the slats of her crib and she broke her neck after struggling to get free. The medical examiner testifies that the child died as the result of a compression of the spinal cord between the sixth and seventh cervical vertebrae. The superior articular processes of the sixth cervical vertebra and the inferior articular processes of the fifth cervical vertebra were fractured, and the processes on the right side were laterally displaced, causing the fifth vertebra to slide laterally across the sixth, damaging the spinal cord. On the basis of this evidence, discuss who you believe is telling the truth, and provide explanation for your claim.

Explanation / Answer

The inferior articular processes of the fifth cervical vertebra connects to the superior articular processes of the sixth, breaking only through this region suggests a specific condition that modulates the targeted part. The lateral part of both process also displaced, which is also an evidence for stucking of neck to the sixth and fifth vertebrae positions. Shaking the baby if causes spinal injury, then it would also damages brain, and top cervical vertebrae. Therefore, the prosecutors claim can neglect.

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