| CPC A61B 17/8605 (2013.01) [A61B 17/1725 (2013.01); A61B 17/725 (2013.01); A61B 17/8635 (2013.01)] | 15 Claims |

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1. A self-countersinking bone screw comprising:
a distal end portion, an intermediate shaft portion, a neck portion, an enlarged head portion, an external thread, and one or more cutting flutes extending from the enlarged head portion towards the distal end portion;
wherein:
the enlarged head portion includes a distal end, a proximal end, and a concave outer surface extending from the distal end toward the proximal end;
the neck portion includes a distal end and a proximal end, the neck portion configured to provide a transition from the shaft portion to the distal end of the enlarged head portion, the neck portion including a minor outer diameter that tapers from a minor outer diameter of the shaft portion towards the enlarged head portion;
the one or more cutting flutes include a distal end and a proximal end, the distal end of the cutting flute being positioned closer to the distal end portion of the bone screw than the distal end of the neck portion so that, in use, the distal end of the one or more cutting flutes contacts a patient's bone prior to the distal end of the neck portion; and
the neck portion includes an enlarged diameter thread, as measured from the minor outer diameter of an outer surface of the bone screw to a major diameter of the enlarged diameter thread, such that a height of the external thread in the neck portion is greater than a height of the external thread in the shaft portion.
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