Differentiating between Traumatic Pathology and Congenital Variant:

Butterfly vertebra is a rare congenital defect of vertebral body formation characterized by anterior and median aplasia.1) The vertebra has a cleft through its body and a funnel shape at the ends that gives the appearance of a butterfly on the anteroposterior (AP) view of a plain radiograph. It may be associated with other congenital syndromes2-6) and vertebral anomalies;7) however, there are few cases reporting the presence of butterfly vertebra as an incidental finding.8) The butterfly vertebra often causes spinal deformities including kyphosis,9) but rarely causes neurological symptoms. The orthopedic surgeon has to identify this benign spinal anomaly, which may be con-fused with a pathologic fracture, infection, or associated vertebral anomalies and syndromes. In the present report, we describe a 40-year-ol