International Journal of Anatomy Radiology and Surgery (Jul 2018)
Variations in Foramen Transversarium of Cervical Vertebrae-An Observational Study
Abstract
Introduction: Knowledge of the anatomical variations of the human body is important for us clinically both for diagnosis and treatment of diseases. Vertebral region also presents many variations. Foramen transversarium (FT) is the identification feature of cervical vertebrae and give way to neurovascular bundle, vertebral vessels and sympathetic plexus around them. Knowledge of the anatomical and surgical variations of the FT is very important for radiologists and neurosurgeons for reporting and planning for surgeries on cervical spine as ignorance of these may lead to injury of vertebral vessels that may cause headache, migraine, fainting and hearing disturbances. Aim: To observe the incidence of double foramina transversarium in the cervical vertebrae and other variations of foramina transversarium. Also to make a note on it’s clinical and morphological importance. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospectively designed, single-center study. Total 148 human dried cervical vertebrae (80 typical and 68 atypical) were collected from the Osteology section of Department of Anatomy, Osmania Medical College, Telangana, India, during the year 2016. The collected vertebrae were observed for the presence of double FT and also for the other variations of FT. The descriptive statistics were calculated to define the sample. Results: Out of 148 human dried cervical vertebrae 80 typical and 68 atypical vertebrae observed for variations in FT. Out of 148 human dried cervical vertebrae 17 (11.48%) vertebrae showed the accessory foramina. Out of 80 typical cervical vertebrae 13(16.25%) vertebrae showed the accessory foramina and out of 68 atypical cervical vertebrae 4(5.88%) vertebrae showed the accessory foramina. Conclusion: These variations may be helpful for planning during neurosurgery for posterior approaches of the cervical vertebrae and to avoid post-operative complications. For the radiologist, the anthropologist and the anatomist, these variations are of importance and helpful in interpretation of the radiological films and also for the academic purpose.
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