| Abstract: |
Grov,’th is a continuous dynamic process that starts early in the fetal life and continuous until puberty, and all the systems of the body undergo the process of growth and maturation. One of these systems is the skeletal system .The vertebral column is one of the components of this system. the modifications in size and shape of the cervical vertebrae in growing subjects have gained increasing interest in the last decades as a biological indicator of individual skeletal maturity, this may be due to that the analysis of the cervical vertebral maturation can be performed on lateral cephalogram of the individual’s head which is a type of film used routinely in orthodontic diagnosis and this avoids an extra-radiation exposure for the patientThe available informations about the dimensions of the cervical vertebrae are limited in children and young adults, so measurements of the vertebral dimensions are recommended as they will provide informations that will help in evaluation of skeletal maturity and in the detection of the onset of the pubertal spurt in mandibular growth and so the treatment timing of mandibular deficiencies.X-ray and CT are the most rapidly advancing computerized tomography scanning techniques of the imaging specialties in computer technology as CT provides excellent osseous details for measurement of . the width of the vertebral body and the spinal canal diameters in addition lateral plain x-ray of the cervical vertebrae changes with growth.The aim of this work was to obtain a base line data about the radiological anatomy of the cervical vertebral dimensions including vertebral body height, depth, area , transverse diameter, in addition theanteroposterior diameter of the cervical spinal canal was also measured for each of C3, C4, C5 and C6 cervical vertebrae while Ct. C2 and C7 cervical vertebrae were excluded as they are difficult to measure and so it can form a record for every school chi.\d. These measurements atso will hetp in earlyprediction and diagnosis of different diseases that affect bony mass.l...atera\plain X-ray and CT scans were done on individuals with no apparent neck pathology and the obtained films were also examined carefully by a radiologist to exclude any abnormal cervical vertebra.The selected cases aged from 6-24 years, they were classified into five groups each one included 24 persons (12 males and 12 females).1) There was an increase in the means of vertebral body height, depth, surface area and transverse diameter with increasing age in both boys an2) The males showed significantly higher values than the females in the 5th age group (18-24y) but the girls showed non significantly higher valuesh. 1 st )nd ,., rd d 4th . h h .-t an t e oys lD , _ , J an age groups WIt t e exceptlOn otvertebral body area of C4 and C6 vertebrae in which the girls showed significantly higher values than the boys in 4th and 15t age groups respectively.3) There was a decrease in the means of the anteroposterior diameter of the spinal canal with increasing age in both boys and girls with non••fi I h•gh I •.. . I• st )nd ,.,rd d 4th bslgm lcant y 10 er va ues lor glr s lD 1 ,_ ,J an age groups utin 5th group the males showed non significantly higher values than the females.4) The 18 years old men showed significantly higher values than bot~ the 15 years old boys and the 18 years old females. While the 18 years old females showed non significantly higher values than the girls at 15 years old. So we can conclude that, the normal dimensions of the cervical vertebrae are very important for evaluation of growth and skeletal maturation in addition it helps in early diagnosis of the diseases that affect these dimensions especially in young age( ex. osteoporosis and developmental myelopathies),also the study proved that the girls reached the adults values at 15 years old, earlier than the boys as they reach to adult values at 18 years old.In the 5th age group (18-24 years) the following was noticed:1) There was a decrease in vertebral body heig..ht from C3-Cs vertebrae then a slight increase from Cs to C6 vertebrae in both sexes.2) Vertebral body depth increased from C3 to C4 and from Cs to C6 vertebrae but showed slight decrease from C4 to Cs vertebrae in both sexes.3) Vertebral body surface area remained nearly constant between C3 and C4 but decreased from C4 to Cs then showed a slight increase at C6 level in males only but in females it is increased from C3 to C4,and remained constant at C6 with slight decrease at Cs level.4) Vertebral body transverse diameter increased from C3 to C6 In both sexes.5) The anteroposterior diameter of the cervical spinal canal decreased from C3 to C6 with slight increase at Cs level in both sexes.These growth changes between males and females could be attributed to hormonal, environmental and genetic differences between both sexes.
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