Department of Spinal Surgery, Shanghai East Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, 150 JiMo Road, Shanghai, 200120, China.
Int Orthop. 2019 Jun;43(6):1521-1528. doi: 10.1007/s00264-018-4053-1. Epub 2018 Aug 9.
Accurate and comprehensive data on cervical endplates is essential for developing and improving cervical devices. However, current literature on vertebral disc geometry is scarce or not suitable. The aim of this study was to obtain quantitative parameters of cervical endplates and provide morphometric references for designing cervical devices.
In this study, 19 human cervical spine cadaveric specimens were considered. Employing a reverse engineering system, the surface information of each endplate was recorded in digital cloud and then 3D reconstructed. A measurement protocol that included three sagittal and three frontal surface curves was developed. The information of surface curves and endplate concavity were obtained and analyzed. The parametric equations of endplate surfaces were deduced based on coordinates of landmarks, and the reliability was verified.
The cervical endplate surface had a trend that to be transversely elongated gradually. The concavity depths of inferior endplates (1.88 to 2.13 mm) were significantly larger than those of superior endplates (0.62 to 0.84 mm). The most-concave points in inferior endplates were concentrated in the central portion, while always located in post-median region in superior endplates.
These results will give appropriate guidelines to design cervical prostheses without sacrificing valuable bone stock. The parametric equations applied for generating surface profile of cervical endplates may provide great convenience for subsequent studies.
准确、全面的颈椎终板数据对于开发和改进颈椎器械至关重要。然而，目前关于椎间盘几何形状的文献很少或不适用。本研究旨在获得颈椎终板的定量参数，并为颈椎器械的设计提供形态学参考。
本研究共纳入 19 具人颈椎尸体标本。采用逆向工程系统，记录每个终板的表面信息，以数字云的形式重建 3D 模型。制定了包括三个矢状面和三个额状面曲线的测量方案。获取并分析了表面曲线和终板凹陷的信息。基于标志点的坐标推导出终板表面的参数方程，并验证了其可靠性。
颈椎终板表面呈逐渐横向拉长的趋势。下位颈椎终板的凹陷深度（1.88 至 2.13 毫米）明显大于上位颈椎终板的凹陷深度（0.62 至 0.84 毫米）。下位颈椎终板的最凹陷点集中在中央部位，而上位颈椎终板的最凹陷点始终位于后正中区域。
这些结果将为设计不牺牲宝贵骨量的颈椎假体提供适当的指导原则。应用于生成颈椎终板表面轮廓的参数方程可能为后续研究提供极大的便利。
