ULTRASOUND FEATURES OF CERVICAL SPINE IN HEALTHY PEOPLE

Aim. In this research, we aimed to study echographic characteristics and normal sizes of the vertebrae and intervertebral discs of the cervical region in healthy individuals.

Materials and methods. On the material of 45 healthy volunteers, normal echographic characteristics of the cervical spine were studied using Toshiba Aplio 500 and Toshiba Aplio XG (Japan) scanners equipped with 3.5–5.0 MHz convex sensors and 7.5–12.0 MHz linear sensors.

Results. It is found that ultrasound examination from the anterior-lateral access to the right and left allows the C3–C7 vertebral body surfaces facing the sensor to be visualized and their interposition and condition to be evaluated. A new echoanatomical reference point for ultrasonic identifi cation of the level of the cervical vertebra is proposed based on the visualization during the transverse scanning of the carotid artery bifurcation, which corresponds to the C3–C4 intervertebral disc level. The information capacity of the proposed echoanatomical criterion exceeds that for the traditional anatomical criterion used for the C7 vertebra along the sternoclavicular joint by 15.6 ± 5.4%. It is revealed that ultrasound examination provides for a satisfactory visualization of intervertebral discs at a level from C3–C4 to C7–Th1 in the longitudinal and transverse projections, as well as the evaluation of their echostructure and height measurement. The minimum, maximum and average values of the height of intervertebral discs at different levels are given; their dependence on gender, height and body weight of the examined persons is analyzed.

Conclusion. It is established that ultrasound examination from the anterior-lateral access is an informative method for investigating vertebral structures at the C3–C7 level. The proposed echoanatomical reference point for C3 and C4 vertebrae allows the ultrasonic identifi cation of the cervical vertebra level to be improved by 15.6 ± 5.4%. The height of the intervertebral disc in healthy persons averages 4.38 ± 0.51 mm and signifi cantly nonlinearly increases from the C3–C4 to C7–Th1 level.