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MEDICAL ANIMATION TRANSCRIPT: Your spine is composed of individual bones called vertebrae. Your vertebrae form a protective tunnel called the spinal canal, which surrounds the spinal cord as it travels down the length of your spine. On each side of the spinal cord, spinal nerves exit the spinal canal through small, bony channels called neural foramina. Cervical spinal nerves travel through your neck, shoulders and arms. Between your skull and your ribcage are seven vertebrae that make up your cervical spine. Flexible pads, known as intervertebral disks, provide a cushion between your vertebrae for the range of movements your head and neck make every day. The cervical spine supports the weight of your head, allows your head to rotate and tilt, and helps you bend your neck. Cervical disc pressure increases when your neck bends forward, backward, and sideways. Intervertebral disks consist of a tough, outer ring of tissue called the annulus fibrosus, and a soft, jelly-like center called the nucleus pulposus. During a traumatic injury, your spine maybe forced forward, or hyperflexed, causing your vertebrae to compress the front of one or more of your cervical disks beyond normal limits. Hyperflexion of the neck is a common cause of cervical injury that occurs in motor vehicle accidents and some sports. As a result, your jelly-like nucleus pulposus is pushed backward into your annulus fibrosus, thinning your annulus and causing small tears. After a cervical disc injury, your annulus fibrosus begins to weaken and tear, and your nucleus pulposus becomes dry and stiff. Over time, these changes make your disk susceptible to further injury. As your intervertebral disk deteriorates, a weak annulus fibrosus can allow your nucleus pulposus to bulge, changing the disk's normal shape and flexibility. Depending on its size and location, the bulge may push on, or impinge, one of your spinal nerves or your spinal cord, causing pain and inflammation. Central disk bulges project backward into your spinal canal. Lateral disk bulges push into your neural foramen. Severe cervical disc injuries can tear open your annulus fibrosis. Pressure from your vertebrae may force the nucleus pulposus out of the torn annulus, causing a disk herniation. A herniated disk can impinge your spinal nerves or spinal cord, interrupt normal nerve signals, and cause symptoms such as pain, numbness, or weakness in one or both of your arms. Treatment for cervical disc injuries may include rest, anti-inflammatory medication, muscle relaxants, ice or heat applied to the injured area, physical therapy, steroid injections, and in more severe cases, surgery.
"I would like to thank all of you at Medical Legal Art for all the
assistance you provided. It was a result of the excellent, timely work
that we were able to conclude the case successfully.
I feel very confident that our paths will cross again."
Fritz G. Faerber
Faerber & Anderson, P.C.
St. Louis, MO
"I wanted to take some time out to let you know what a wonderful job you did
with the 'collapsed lung/fractured rib' illustrations. They were both
detailed and accurate. My medical expert was comfortable working with them
and he spent at least an hour explaining to the jury the anatomy of the
lungs, the ribs and the injuries depicted in the illustrations. Needless to
say, the jury was riveted to the doctor during his testimony.
The jury returned a verdict for $800,000.00 and I'm sure we would not have
done so well if not for the visualizations we were able to put forth with
your assistance. Lastly, my special thanks to Alice [Senior Medical
Illustrator] who stayed late on Friday night and patiently dealt with my
last minute revisions."
Daniel J. Costello
Proner & Proner
New York, NY
"At 3 PM it hit me--I needed exhibits of a tracheostomy, a coronary artery
bypass and a deep vein thrombosis--all in time for a for-trial video
deposition the next day. The Doe Report had each exhibit on line. In
addition, I ran across an exhibit I hadn't even thought of: reduced ejection
fraction after a heart attack. Because this was a video deposition, I could
use the e-mail version of the medical exhibit, print it on my color copier,
and let the camera zoom in. For $400, less than one blow-up by one of The
Doe Report's competitors, I got four first-rate exhibits in less than a day.
The Doe Report saved me time and money."
"Medical Legal Art wins our firm's highest accolades for professionalism and
exhibit quality. In fact, many of the doctors I work with request color
copies of your outstanding artwork to show to patients during the informed
consent process."
Jeanne Dolan, BSRN, AlNC Legal Nurse Consultant Golden Valley, MN
Medical Legal Art creates medical demonstrative evidence (medical
illustrations, drawings, pictures, graphics, charts, medical animations,
anatomical models, and interactive presentations) for use during legal
proceedings, including research, demand letters, client conferences,
depositions, arbitrations, mediations, settlement conferences, mock jury
trials and for use in the courtroom. We do not provide legal or medical
advice. If you have legal questions, you should find a lawyer with whom you
can discuss your case issues. If you have medical questions, you should seek the advice of a healthcare provider.