Rheumatoid arthritis. Radiological changes in the cervical spine
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 26, 2026

Automated Joint Space Detection Improves Bone Segmentation Accuracy
Published on: November 28, 2025
Ahmed A Al-Boukai1, Abdurhman S Al-Arfaj
1Department of Radiology, King Khalid University Hospital, PO Box 7805 (40), Riyadh 11472, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. aboukai@ksu.edu.sa
Objective:
To describe the radiographic cervical spine changes in rheumatoid arthritis patients.
Methods:
Forty-nine patients (37 females and 12 males) diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at King Khalid University Hospital, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, between June 1998 and June 2000, were studied for their radiographic cervical spine changes. Their mean age at disease onset was 41.4 +/- 13.4 years (range of 18-73) and mean duration of the disease was 9.1 +/- 6.28 years (range of 2-34). Their demographic data including rheumatoid factor status was obtained. Standard conventional radiographs of cervical spine were obtained to study the cervical spine changes.
Results:
Cervical spine radiographic changes were found in 34 patients (27 females and 7 males), 10 had subluxation (7 with atlanto-axial subluxation, 2 with sub-axial subluxation, and one with lateral subluxation). No vertical impaction was seen. Erosion of odontoid process was seen in one patient. All were rheumatoid seropositive.
Conclusion:
Cervical spine changes in patients with rheumatoid arthritis are common, in particular subluxation in the upper cervical spine. Our study showed somewhat lesser prevalence of these changes. These were clinically correlated with disease duration, female sex, and rheumatoid factor, but were not statistically significant.
Related Concept Videos
Rheumatic Heart Disease II: Clinical Manifestations and Diagnostic Studies
Degenerative Disc Disease ll: Pathophysiology
Herniated Intervertebral Disc l: Introduction
Radiological Investigation I: X-ray and CT
Articulations of the Vertebral Column
Vertebral Column: Regions and Curvature
Regions of the Vertebral Column
In an adult, the spine is subdivided into five regions: the cervical, the thoracic, the lumbar, the sacral, and the coccygeal region. The spine initially develops as a series of 33 vertebrae; after 20 years of age, the nine bones in the sacral region, five sacral, and four coccygeal bones fuse to form the...
