Chinese Journal Of Clinical Anatomy ›› 2012, Vol. 30 ›› Issue (3): 291-294.

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Joint interval of the occipitocervical complex: image comparision and clinical significance

REN Wei, WANG Jian, YUAN Wu,SHAO Heng, LI Yun-sheng   

  1. Department of Anatomy, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin 300070, China
  • Received:2011-07-30 Online:2012-05-25 Published:2012-06-06

Abstract:

Objective To examine and compare image data of normal joint interval of occipitocervical complex (OCC) on colloidin microsection, CT and MRI, and judge the accuracy of OCC data under different methods. Methods 24 specimens from normal upper cervical vertebra were use in this study. The specimens were scanned under CT and MRI firstly, followed by the collection of OCC images. After that, the specimens were embedded into celloidin and cut into successive slices with 1mm thickness (12 horizontal, 6 sagittal, 6 coronal sections). Observation and analysis were performed on the relative joint intervals originated from different sources of images. Results The distances of joint intervals included atlantoodnoid interval (ADI), lateral atlantoodnoid interval (LADI), alantooccipital interval (AOI), atlantoaxial interval (AAI), basion-axial interval (BAI) and basion-dens interval (BDI). Statistical analysis showed that there were no significant differences among different image data. Conclusions This result provides morphologic basis for clinic application. CT and MRI images, especially MRI images, are reliable for evaluating the details of OCC.

Key words: Occipitocervical complex, Joint interval, Colloidin microsection, CT, MRI

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