Maturation of cervical vertebrae in relation to menarche / 대한치과교정학회지

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between menarche and cervical vertebral maturation. METHODS: Lateral cephalograms of 67 young korean girls within the range of 1 year before or after their menarche were gathered. The concavity of the cervical vertebrae base and the ratio of the base length to the 3rd and 4th cervical vertebrae anterior height were measured and analyzed. RESULTS: The mean measured values were as follows; concavity of the 3rd cervical vertebrae base 1.27 (+/- 0.18) mm, concavity of the 4th cervical vertebrae base 1.06 (+/- 0.15) mm, ratio of the base length to the 3rd cervical vertebrae anterior height 0.73 (+/- 0.06) and ratio of the base length to the 4th cervical vertebrae anterior height 0.70 (+/- 0.05). There was a significant increase in the ratio of the base length to the 3rd vertebrae anterior height and the base concavity of the 3rd and 4th cervical vertebrae during the period of 1 year before to 1 year after their menarche. CONCLUSIONS: These characteristics of the 3rd and 4th cervical vertebrae on the lateral cephalogram can provide useful clues on evaluating the growth stage.