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Anteriorly angulated coccyx

Case contributed by Raffi Ourfalian
Diagnosis certain

Presentation

Coccygeal pain.

Patient Data

Age: 20 years
Gender: Female
x-ray

Lateral view of the pelvis demonstrates an acute or sharp anterior angulation deformity between the first and second coccygeal segments. This is consistent with a type III anteriorly angulated coccyx.

An anterior view of the pelvis demonstrates non-visualization of the coccyx, which is consistent with angular deformity on the AP projection.

Case Discussion

Anterior angulation of the coccyx is considered a normal variant that is unrelated to trauma. Postacchini and Massobrio described four types of anteriorly angulated coccyges (types I–IV).

The above case contains a good teaching point in that if the coccyx is non-visualized on an AP view of the pelvis, a lateral view can be obtained to discern the angulation of the coccyx.

This case was submitted with supervision and input from:

Soni C. Chawla, M.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Radiological Sciences
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Olive View - UCLA Medical Center

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