Normative Cervical Spinal Canal and Spinal Cord Dimensions on MRI in Kashmiri Adults

Introduction: Stenosis or narrowing of spinal canal is a common cause of cervical pain and a risk factor for development of spondylotic myelopathy.The aim of the present study was to determine the normal values of the cervical spinal canal and spinal cord in antero-posterior dimensions on MRI in Kashmiri adults of Kashmiri ethnicity Materials and Methods: The measurements were made on 100 MRI scans (midsagittal T2 Weighted images) from C3 to C7 levels. Patients ages ranged from 19-38 years (average age 32.8 years) and 56 patients were male and remaining 44 were females. All patients were of Kashmiri ethnic origin. The MR study was rejected if there was clinical history of radiculopathy, possible intrinsic spinal cord disease or a degenerative process. Results: The average antero-posterior (AP) vertebral body dimension in mid sagittal axis was 15.56 mm +/1.36 mm (average +/SD).The average antero-posterior spinal canal dimension in sagittal axis was 14.5 mm +/1.02 mm (average +/-SD). Theaverage antero-posterior (AP) spinal cord dimensionin sagittal axis was 8.18 mm +/0.9 mm (average +/-SD). Conclusions: In the present study, the antero posterior vertebral body and spinal canal dimensions in mid sagittal axis were 1 to 3 mm less than the measurements reported in various studies.This could be attributed to ethnic differences.