X-ray Findings of Myelopathy in Cervical Spondylosis

Abstract

The sagittal diameter of the cervical spinal canal was measured at the fifth cervical vertebra as the ratio of the diameter of the cervical spinal canal to the diameter of the cervical vertebral body on the x-ray film of lateral view. And also, the sagittal diameter of the cervical spinal canal narrowed by the posterior spurs or the posterior sliding of the cervical vertebra was measured at the involved cervical vertebra.The measurements obtained in this series of 110 myelopathic cases and of 260 asymptomatic cases indicated that the sagittal diameter of the cervical spinal canal of the former was definitely narrower than that of the latter.The correlation between the degree of defect of the shadow in myelogram and the degree of compression of the cervical spinal cord of myelopathy in cervical spondylosis was discussed.It is concluded that the narrowing of the cervical spinal canal may be form the base of the pathogenesis of myelopathy in cervical spondylosis.