title: Moment of inertia as a means to evaluate the biomechanical impact of pelvic organ prolapse.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To present an alternative measure (moment of inertia) to describe the anatomical features of the pelvic organ prolapse.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 30 women (21 diagnosed as having pelvic organ prolapse and 9 as controls) were evaluated by clinical scales and magnetic resonance imaging. Imaging biometric measures were carried out. Moment of inertia, pubovisceral muscle thickness and area, and levator hiatus anterior-to-posterior and lateral measures were compared by means of non-parametric tests, as well as their correlation with demographic features of the two sample groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Moment of inertia, muscle area and levator hiatus diameters were statistically different between patients and controls. Furthermore, they were also well correlated with prolapse-associated factors, such as the number of vaginal deliveries and age, as well as Pelvic Organ Prolapse Quantification system and imaging staging of levator ani defects.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Moment of inertia can be used as a new parameter to evaluate pelvic floor damage resulting from prolapse.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Hospital de S. João, Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Sofia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Brandão
authors.forename: Thuane
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Da Roza
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mascarenhas
authors.forename: Sonia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Duarte
authors.forename: Isabel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ramos
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Parente
authors.forename: Renato Natal
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Jorge
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D017773:Pelvic Floor / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D056887:Pelvic Organ Prolapse / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D055815:Young Adult