Affiliation:
1. Shandong Medical Imaging Research Institute, Shandong University, Jinan, PR China
2. Musculoskeletal Radiology UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
3. Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
Abstract
Background The transverse ligament tubercles play an important role in maintaining the stability of upper cervical spine, but the variation of these tubercles with aging has not been studied systematically. Purpose To evaluate the variation of the height of the transverse ligament tubercles with respect to age and gender, and assess side-to-side differences on multidetector computed tomography (MDCT). Material and Methods A consecutive series of 291 Chinese patients undergoing a head or neck MDCT were divided into eight age groups. The bony anatomy of the atlas was displayed symmetrically by aligning the axial plane and the mean height of bilateral transverse ligament tubercles was measured. The height was correlated with age and gender and side-to-side differences were analyzed. Finally, the inter-observer performance was assessed. Results No transverse ligament tubercles were seen in 51 cases (17.5%, 51/291) and unilateral transverse ligament tubercles were seen in two cases (0.7%, 2/291). Bilateral transverse ligament tubercles were observed in 238 cases (81.8%, 238/291). The average height of the left and right tubercles were 2.68 ± 1.58 mm and 2.68 ± 1.54 mm, respectively, with no significant side-to-side differences (t = 0.061, P > 0.05). The height was also similar in both genders (left: t = 0.497, P > 0.05, right: t = 0.730, P > 0.05). The height increased linearly with age (left: r = 0.513, P < 0.05, right: r = 0.516, P < 0.05). The inter-observer reliability was excellent. Conclusion The height of the transverse ligament tubercles on MDCT linearly increases with increasing age with no significant differences among the genders or the side measured.
Subject
Radiology Nuclear Medicine and imaging,General Medicine,Radiological and Ultrasound Technology
Cited by
2 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献