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The relationship between the incidence of post-traumatic headache and the severity of head injury has been a controversial issue. The milder the head injury, the more frequently severe headache is noted as a symptom. To investigate this relationship, 121 civilians were investigated using simplified classifications of the grade of headache, type of injury (mild or severe), cervical X-ray and head CT findings, and clinical history. All the subjects were claiming compensation for work-related injuries. In the mildly injured group, 46/64 patients complained of severe headache, while only 19/57 had severe headache in the severely injured group (p < 0.001). Abnormal findings on the cervical X-ray films including degenerative changes were more frequent in the severe headache group (p < 0.02). CT abnormalities correlated positively with the severity of head injury (p < 0.001), but showed an inverse relationship with the incidence of headache (p < 0.01). Mentally impaired patients also complained of headache less frequently (p < 0.01). On the basis of these results, possible organic mechanisms related to the pathogenesis of post-traumatic headache are discussed.

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Tail-like caudal appendages may be associated with spinal dysraphism, particularly with spinal lipomas or lipomyelomeningoceles. An unusual case is presented of a patient with a myelomeningocele and a thick filum terminale with tethered spinal cord, which presented with the external appearance of a human tail. A review of the literature reveals that human tails may be associated with dysraphic conditions. Extensive neuroradiological examinations should be performed for all such cases of apparent tails.

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