Yonsei Med J.  1994 Dec;35(4):446-452. 10.3349/ymj.1994.35.4.446.

Mid-sagittal canal diameter and vertebral body/canal ratio of the cervical spine in Koreans

• Lee HM
• Kim NH
• Kim HJ
• Chung IH

• KMID: 1125983
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3349/ymj.1994.35.4.446

Abstract

In order to ascertain the normal values of the mid-sagittal canal diameter and the canal/body ratio of the cervical spine in Korean adults, ninety sets of cervical vertebral columns were examined. The average mid-sagittal canal diameters from C3 through C7 in the normal Korean are 13.2 +/- 1.3 millimeters in male and 13.1 +/- 2.6 millimeters in female. The normal average canal/body ratio of the cervical spine is 0.93 +/- 0.10 in male and 1.02 +/- 0.09 in female. The mid-sagittal canal diameter is largest in the White population and smallest in Asian, but there is no racial differences in the canal/body ratio, and the lower limit of normal canal/body ratio is 0.8 in Korean. The authors conclude that measurement of the canal/body ratio is more reliable than direct measuring of the mid-sagittal diameter of the cervical spinal canal in the diagnosis of cervical spinal stenosis or predicting the prognosis of cervical spinal cord injury.

Keyword

Measurement; mid-sagittal canal diameter; canal/body ratio; cervical spine

MeSH Terms

Adult
Aged
Anthropometry
Cervical Vertebrae/*anatomy & histology
Female
Human
Korea
Male
Middle Age
Spinal Canal/*anatomy & histology
Support, Non-U.S. Gov't