title: Morphological study of the posterior osseous structures of subaxial cervical spine in a population from northeastern China.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Laminar screws and lateral mass screws have been increasingly used in the treatment of cervical diseases. The purpose of this study is to determine the morphological characteristics of the posterior anatomical structures of the subaxial cervical vertebrae in a northeastern Chinese population.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixty-one consecutive patients underwent cervical spine computed tomography (CT). We analyzed a total of 610 axial images and 61 sagittal images. The following parameters were measured: lamina outer width (LOW), lamina inner width (LIW), lamina axis length (LAL), lamina transverse angle (LTA), lateral mass longitudinal diameter (LMLD), lateral mass transverse diameter (LMTD), sagittal spinous process length (SSPL), axial spinous process length (ASPL), spinal canal transverse diameter (SCTD), spinal canal longitudinal diameter (SCLD), osseous spinal canal area (OSCA), and Pavlov ratio (PR). The participants were classified into male and female groups and developmental canal stenosis (DCS; PR ≤0.75) and non-DCS (NDCS; PR >0.75) groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Significant differences were observed among the different vertebral levels for almost all evaluated parameters, except for LTA and OSCA. Statistical differences were found between the right and left sides in all parameters, except for LIW and LOW. All linear parameters, except for SCLD and the angular parameter LTA, significantly differed between the sexes. Significant differences were found between the DCS and NDCS groups in terms of all parameters, except for SCTD.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Various measurements of the posterior structures of subaxial cervical vertebrae differed between the left and right sides, females and males, and the DCS and NDCS groups. Different techniques for lateral mass screw insertion should be used according to different vertebral level. Only C7 laminar may be able to safely accommodate a 2.5-mm translaminar screw. The study data can help doctors to make better surgical decisions and develop more appropriate implants for northeastern Chinese patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Spinal Surgery, The First Hospital of Jilin University, No.71, Xinmin Avenue, Chaoyang District, Changchun, Jilin Province, 130021, People's Republic of China. successwzy@163.com.
authors.forename: Zhenyu
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Spinal Surgery, The First Hospital of Jilin University, No.71, Xinmin Avenue, Chaoyang District, Changchun, Jilin Province, 130021, People's Republic of China. lengjiali2008@sina.com.
authors.forename: Jiali
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Leng
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, The Second Hospital of Jilin University, No.218, Ziqiang Street, Changchun, Jilin Province, 130041, People's Republic of China. drliujh@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Jianhua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Spinal Surgery, The First Hospital of Jilin University, No.71, Xinmin Avenue, Chaoyang District, Changchun, Jilin Province, 130021, People's Republic of China. successwzy@sohu.com.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D044466:Asian People; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D002681:China; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019547:Neck Pain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D012016:Reference Values; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed