AO spine classification system for thoracolumbar fractures

摘要

The classification of a certain pathology––be it located at the spine or at another anatomical region of the human body, and be it traumatic or a disease––is a fundamental medical act in terms of developing a common language for the understanding of this pathology and as an attempt to standardize treatment and to measure outcome. Classifi- cations should be as simple as possible and consistently reproducible and have a rational treatment implication. There may be a basic classification for the daily clinical use and a more detailed sub-classification for more sophisticated scientific evaluations. .