Morphometrical study of the axial view of the cervical spinal cord with MRI. Analysis of the normal shape and relation between the shape of the spinal cord and the clinical result in compression myelopathy

The axial view of normal cervical spinal cord was analyzed to elucidate the relationships between its shape and clinical result in compression myelopathy. Subjects were 104 cases with normal shape and 35 cases with cervical myelopathy of a single intervertebral compressive lesion. MRI was performed with General Electric 1.5 T superconducting apparatus to get T1-weighted cross image of 5 mm slice thickness. Morphometry was performed with high performance image processor (SPICCA, Nihon-Avionics) to compute the area and longitudinal and lateral lengths of spinal cord to calculate flatness. The area and longitudinal length were positively correlated with body height, and the longitudinal length and flatness, negatively with age. The reduction rate of the spinal cord area had a relation with neurological symptoms, but, together with age and duration of the disease, had no relation with the clinical results from operation. (H.O.)