Related Experiment Videos
Morphologic features of the normal human cadaveric spinal cord
T Kameyama1, Y Hashizume, G Sobue
1Department of Neurology, Nagoya University School of Medicine, Japan.
Spine
|June 1, 1996
Summary
Human spinal cord measurements show consistent ratios between segments, enabling calculation of any segment's size from a single measurement. This provides a practical standard for spinal cord morphologic features.
Area of Science:
- Human anatomy
- Morphometrics
- Spinal cord research
Background:
- Significant individual variation exists in human spinal cord size.
- No established standard for spinal cord measurement currently exists.
- Limited detailed descriptions of normal spinal cord morphology are available.
Purpose of the Study:
- To establish accurate anatomic descriptions of the human spinal cord.
- To provide comprehensive morphometric data for the human spinal cord.
- To define a practical standard for measuring spinal cord morphology.
Main Methods:
- Measured cross-sectional area and diameter of spinal cords from 12 cadavers.
- Analyzed measurements at each segmental level from C2 to S3.
- Described qualitative and quantitative morphologic features for each segment.
Main Results:
- A consistent relative ratio of cross-sectional area was observed across segments in all specimens.
- Individual absolute spinal cord sizes varied greatly.
- Each spinal cord segment exhibited unique morphologic characteristics.
Conclusions:
- The normal cross-sectional area of any spinal cord segment can be calculated from a single segment's measurement.
- This calculable ratio serves as a practical and appropriate standard for assessing normal spinal cord morphology.
- Provides a basis for understanding spinal cord variations and establishing measurement standards.