Department of radiology, the first affiliated hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China.
GE Healthcare, Beijing, China.
BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2020 Feb 14;21(1):101. doi: 10.1186/s12891-020-3123-x.
To evaluate the maximal sectional area (SA) of the rectus capitis posterior minor (RCPmi) muscle and its potential correlation with to be named ligament (TBNL) in the suboccipital area using 3D MR imaging.
A total of 365 subjects underwent sagittal 3D TWI MR imaging of the RCPmi and TBNL. Among them, 45 subjects were excluded due to a particular clinical history or poor image quality. Finally, 320 subjects met the inclusion criteria, including 138 men and 182 women. The 624 RCPmi muscles were classified into positive and negative groups according to their attachment to the TBNL. Two experienced radiologists manually measured the maximum SA of the RCPmi muscle on the parasagittal image with a 30° deviation from the median sagittal plane. The correlations between the SA and the subject's age, height, BMI, gender, handedness, and age-related disc degeneration were tested by Spearman analysis. The SA differences between different groups were compared using independent samples t-test.
A total of 123 RCPmi-TBNL attachments were identified in the positive group, while 501 RCPmi muscles were identified in the negative group. The SA of the 624 RCPmi muscles was 62.71 ± 28.72 mm and was poorly correlated with the subject's age, BMI, or handedness, with no correlation with age-related disc degeneration. A fair correlation was found between the SA and the body height in the whole group, and poor correlation in each male/female group. The SA of the RCPmi muscle in males was significantly bigger than that in women ([75.54 ± 29.17] vs. [52.74 ± 24.07] mm). The SA of RCPmi muscle in the positive group was significantly smaller than that in the negative group ([55.95 ± 26.76] mm vs. [64.37 ± 28.97] mm).
Our results revealed a significantly smaller SA of the RCPmi in subjects with RCPmi-TBNL attachment. Besides, a larger SA of the RCPmi was correlated with the male gender. These findings suggest that the SA of the RCPmi ought to be interpreted with care for each patient since there could be considerable variations.
本研究旨在通过 3D MR 成像评估头后小直肌（RCPmi）的最大横截面积（SA）及其在下枕区与待命名韧带（TBNL）的潜在相关性。
共有 365 例受试者接受了 RCPmi 和 TBNL 的矢状面 3D TWI MR 成像。其中，由于特殊的临床病史或图像质量差，有 45 例受试者被排除。最终，320 例受试者符合纳入标准，包括 138 名男性和 182 名女性。根据 RCPmi 与 TBNL 的附着情况，624 条 RCPmi 肌肉分为阳性和阴性两组。两名经验丰富的放射科医生在与正中矢状面偏差 30°的矢状旁图像上手动测量 RCPmi 肌肉的最大 SA。通过 Spearman 分析测试 SA 与受试者年龄、身高、BMI、性别、利手和年龄相关性椎间盘退变之间的相关性。采用独立样本 t 检验比较不同组间 SA 的差异。
在阳性组中发现了 123 个 RCPmi-TBNL 附着，而在阴性组中发现了 501 个 RCPmi 肌肉。624 条 RCPmi 肌肉的 SA 为 62.71±28.72mm，与受试者年龄、BMI 或利手相关性差，与年龄相关性椎间盘退变无关。在整个研究组中，SA 与身高呈中度相关，而在每个男性/女性组中相关性较差。男性 RCPmi 肌肉的 SA 明显大于女性（[75.54±29.17] 与 [52.74±24.07]mm）。阳性组 RCPmi 肌肉的 SA 明显小于阴性组（[55.95±26.76]mm 与 [64.37±28.97]mm）。
我们的结果表明，与 RCPmi-TBNL 附着的受试者相比，RCPmi 的 SA 明显较小。此外，RCPmi 的较大 SA 与男性性别相关。这些发现表明，由于存在较大的变异性，每个患者的 RCPmi SA 都应谨慎解读。
