Abstract:

Objective　To provide the theory evidence of artificial disc design, replacement and disc related diseases by measurement of the cervical intervertebral disc of adolescent using MRI.    Method    40 normal adolescent cases were used to measure the height and diameter of the sagittal plane of cervical intervertebral disc by SIGNA MR/1.5T MRI. 5 groups of the sagittal images were scanned with the cervical sagittal versine as the center, respectively to the two sides at intervals of 3 mm. The center height and diameter of intervertebral disc were measured in the center of the middle plane,and finally the average measurement data was chosen from two deputy chief physician of the MRI.    Result     (1) The anterior posterior cervical disc was (14.036±1.812)mm and center height was (4.111±0.813)mm. (2) No statistic difference was found between the center height and diameter from C2～3 to C6～7（P＞0.05）.(3) No statistic difference was found between males and females in the each group of the center height and diameter（P＞0.05）.    Conclusion    (1) The center height and diameter of C2 to C7 vertebrae in teenagers of 14~17 years old. There was no significant difference among the measured values. (2) MRI may directly display the cervical intervertebral disc shape, and the data may meet the the requirement of an artificial disc.

Key words: Cervical intervertebral disc, MRI, Anatomy, Teenagers