Congenital Malformation of the Transverse Processes of the First Dorsal Vertebra

Abstract

Several years ago, the United States Employees Compensation Commission referred to us a claimant who had been receiving compensation for about two years because of an ununited fracture of the right transverse process of the first dorsal vertebra, requesting that we determine the amount of his present disability. History.—On Feb. 7, 1929, while working as a laborer on a Government project, the patient had lifted a hammer to cut rivets, at which time he felt something snap in his right shoulder and a “hot streak” run down his shoulder and back. No immediate disability followed and he continued work for several days after the “injury,” complaining for the first time when he was laid off. The patient was first seen by a physician on March 20, 1929, who evidently did not believe the injury severe enough to warrant an x-ray examination. The complaints continued and the patient was then sent to another physician who, on June 5, 1929, had a roentgenograph made of the shoulder, from which the diagnosis of a fractu...