In the 19th and 20th centuries, some medical experts devised new nomenclature in an attempt to classify the characteristics that they had observed, the first attempt to create a taxonomic classification system of intersex conditions. Intersex people were categorized as either having "true hermaphroditism", "female pseudohermaphroditism", or "male pseudohermaphroditism". These terms are no longer used, and terms including the word "hermaphrodite" are considered to be misleading, stigmatizing, and scientifically specious in reference to humans. In biology, the term "hermaphrodite" is used to describe an organism that can produce both male and female gametes. Some people with intersex traits use the term "intersex", and some prefer other language. In clinical settings, the term "disorders of sex development" (DSD) has been used since 2006, a shift in language considered controversial since its introduction. Intersex people face stigmatization and discrimination from birth, or following the discovery of intersex traits at stages of development such as puberty. Intersex people may face infanticide, abandonment, and stigmatization from their families. Globally, some intersex infants and children, such as those with ambiguous outer genitalia, are surgically or hormonally altered to create more socially acceptable sex characteristics. However, this is considered controversial, with no firm evidence of favorable outcomes. Such treatments may involve sterilization. Adults, including elite female athletes, have also been subjects of such treatment. Increasingly, these issues are considered human rights abuses, with statements from international and national human rights and ethics institutions (see intersex human rights).
Hangmans fracture is the colloquial name given to a fracture of both pedicles, or partes interarticulares, of the axis vertebra (C2). Causes
The injury mainly occurs from falls, usually in elderly adults, and motor accidents mainly due to impacts of high force causing extension of the neck and great axial load onto the C2 vertebra. In a study based in Norway, 60% of reported cervical fractures came from falls and 21% from motor-related accidents. According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the group under the highest risk of C2 fractures are elderly people within the age group of 65-84 (39.02%) at risks of falls (61%) or motor accidents (21%) in metropolitan areas (94%). There were 203 discharges from the age group 1-17; 1,843 from 18- to 44-year-olds; 2,147 from 45- to 64-year-olds, 4,890 from 65- to 84-year-olds, and 3440 from 85+-year-olds. Females accounted for 54.45% of occurrences while males accounted for the other 45.38%. Mechanisms
The mechanism of the injury is forcible hyperextension of the head, usually with distraction of the neck. Traditionally this would occur during judicial hanging, when the noose was placed below the condemned subjects chin. When the subject was dropped, the head would be forced into hyperextension by the full weight of the body, a sufficient force to cause the fracture.