Gross quantitative measurements of spinal cord segments in human

Anatomical measurement.

To obtain quantitative anatomical data on each spinal cord segment in human, and determine the presence of correlations between the measures.

Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Pusan National University Hospital, Pusan, Korea.

A total of 15 embalmed Korean adult human cadavers (13 males, two females; mean age 57.3 years) were used. The length of each cord segment was defined as the root attachment length plus the upper inter-root length. After performing a total vertebrectomy, a transverse cut was made at the approximate proximal and distal point of each segment from segment C3 to S5. Sagittal and transverse diameters at the proximal end of each segment, and cross-sectional area, height, and volume of the segment were measured.

The transverse diameter was largest at segment C5, and decreased progressively to segment T8. However, the sagittal diameter of each segment did not change distinctly with the segment. The cervical and lumbar enlargements were determined by the transverse diameters of the segments. Segment C5 had the largest cross-sectional area, at 75.0 mm(2). Segment T6 was the longest, averaging 22.4 mm in length. The longest segment in the cervical spinal cord was segment C5, at 15.5 mm, and segment L1 in the lumbar spinal cord. The volume was largest at segment C5, with a value of 1173.9 mm(3).

We found characteristic quantitative differences in the values of the parameters measured in the thoracic spinal cord compared to those measured in the cervical and lumbar or lumbosacral spinal cords. These measurements of spinal cord segments appear to provide valuable and practical standard quantitative features and may provide basic data for understanding the morphometric characteristics relevant to pathophysiologic conditions of the spinal cord.