Individual variability of the dimensional characteristics of the cervical vertebrae in the applied aspect of developing neurosurgical interventions

Abstract

Modern methods make it possible to study the anatomical structures of the spine with a high degree of detail, which is in demand in neurosurgical practice when planning the most optimal surgical approaches or installing microsurgical stabilizing structures. Aim: To identify the features of the variability of the size of the cervical spine bodies in the frontal plane during MRI examination. Materials and methods: 105 magnetic resonance tomograms were studied, in three projections, morphometry of the cervical vertebral bodies and statistical analysis were carried out. Results and discussion: Among women, the median widths of the C4, C5 vertebrae were the closest, differing by 0.7 mm. The most pronounced differences in the height of the vertebral bodies among men are between C7 and C5, reaching 2 mm. Conclusion: Differences in the average width of the vertebral bodies of the cervical spine in men and women do not exceed 8 mm. The greatest height differences were for C7 and C5. The data obtained make it possible to improve the methods of computer processing, to improve the methods of personalized treatment of patients when planning endoscopic microsurgical operations and fixing microsurgical stabilizing structures.