title: A reassessment of cervical surface anatomy via CT scan in an adult population.
abstract: Surface landmarks in the neck are important for orientations of cervical glands, arteries, veins, nerves, and vertebrae. Recent research suggests some orientations are not correct. What are the cervical landmark orientations in the Chinese population? In this study, two essential cervical anatomy planes, the thyroid cartilage and C7 planes, were assessed in living adult Chinese subjects using computed tomography (CT), and the hyoid, carotid bifurcation, cricoid cartilage, thyroid arteries, and vertebral artery were simultaneously positioned. After excluding patients with distorting pathology, a total of 108 cervical CT scans were examined. The thyroid cartilage plane commonly passed through the C5 (in males) or C4 (in females) vertebral level. The carotid artery bifurcated most commonly at C3 (left) or C4 (right), more than 10 mm above the thyroid cartilage plane bilaterally in most cases. Orientation of the carotid bifurcation according to the body or greater horn of the hyoid was more accurate. The superior thyroid artery was found a finger-breadth below the thyroid cartilage plane, and the inferior thyroid artery in the C7 plane. The inferior border of the cricoid cartilage was most often at C7 (in males) or C6 (in females). The vertebral artery entered the C6 transverse foramen in more than 80% of scans. This reassessment of cervical surface anatomy using modern imaging tools in vivo provides both qualitative and quantitative information for surgeons in clinical practice. Clin. Anat. 30:330-335, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Xin-Hua
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Hua-Dan
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Xue
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Man
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Medical Imaging, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
authors.forename: S Ali
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Mirjalili
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Zhu-Hua
authors.initials: ZH
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Chao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ma
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D059925:Anatomic Landmarks / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009333:Neck / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D013957:Thyroid Cartilage / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods; D014711:Vertebral Artery / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging
keywords: carotid bifurcation; cricoid cartilage; surface anatomy; thyroid artery; thyroid cartilage