THE SAGITTAL AND TRANSVERSE DIAMETERS OF CHINESE SPINAL CANAL / 解剖学报

ABSTRACT

The sagittal and transverse diameters of spinal canal were measured from 344 cases including dry specimens,preserved vertebral colomns and X-ray films.Based on these data several conclusions have been drawn. (1)The morphology of spinal canal is consistent with the external feature of spinal cord. (2)The mean values of various measurement of cervical(C),thoracic(T),and lumbar(L)vertebrae of spinal canal in dry specimens are as follows Transverse diameter(mm.) Sagittal diameter(mm.) C T L C T L Male 23.6 16.7 23.4 14.4 14.9 16.5 Eemale 23.1 16.1 22.4 13.7 14.2 16.0 (3)The mean values of measurement of spinal canal in X-ray films are as fol- lows Transverse diameter(mm.) Sagittal diameter(mm.) L C L Male 27.8 16.5 19.8 Female 27.0 15.7 19.1 The data measured from X-ray films are approximately 20% larger than those from the actual specimens. (4)The ratio between the sagittal diameters of the cervical canal and vertebral body is 80～90% in male and 90～100% in female.The normal ratio between the products of sagittal and transverse diameters of the lumbar spinal canal and of the vertebral body is 14.Ratios lower than this value is considered to denote a diagnostic significance for spinal stenosis.