It is exigent that a thorough clinical and radiological evaluation be completed to determine if the patient has suffered an unstable cervical spine injury. This begins with a thorough history and physical examination, including a complete neurological examination with particular attention to spinal cord function. Cervical spine radiography (including possibly CT, MRI, and myelography) is indicated to evaluate fracture patterns, disk disruption, vertebral subluxation, vertebral dislocation, vertebral angulation, and ligamentous injury. Ligamentous injury evaluation should look for disruption of each of the major spinal ligaments including the anterior longitudinal ligament, the posterior longitudinal ligament, the apophyseal ligamentous complex, and the posterior ligamentous complex. Radiological findings that indicate instability include vertebral displacement, interspinous process widening, diastasis of the apophyseal joints, widening of the spinal canal, and disruption of the posterior vertebral body line.