Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
Ann Biomed Eng. 2021 Aug;49(8):1888-1899. doi: 10.1007/s10439-021-02747-6. Epub 2021 Feb 26.
Although critical for understanding and simulating pelvic floor muscle function and pathophysiology, the fascicle arrangements of the coccygeus and levator ani remain mostly undetermined. We performed close-range photogrammetry on cadaveric pelvic floor muscles to robustly quantify surface fascicle orientations. The pelvic floor muscles of 5 female cadavers were exposed through anatomic dissections, removed en bloc, and photographed from every required angle. Overlapping images were mapped onto in silico geometries and muscle fascicles were traced manually. Tangent vectors were calculated along each trace; interpolated to define continuous, 3D vector fields; and projected onto axial and sagittal planes to calculate angles with respect to the pubococcygeal line. Contralateral and ipsilateral pelvic floor muscles were compared within each donor (Kuiper's tests) and using mean values from all donors (William-Watsons tests). Contralateral muscles and all but one ipsilateral muscle pair differed significantly within each donor (p < 0.001). When mean values were considered collectively, no contralateral or ipsilateral statistical differences were found but all muscles compared differed by more than 10° on average. Close-range photogrammetry and subsequent analyses robustly quantified surface fascicle orientations of the pelvic floor muscles. The continuous, 3D vector fields provide data necessary for improving simulations of the female pelvic floor muscles.
尽管对于理解和模拟盆底肌肉功能和病理生理学至关重要，但尾骨和肛提肌的肌束排列仍然大多未确定。我们对尸体盆底肌肉进行近距离摄影测量，以准确量化表面肌束方向。通过解剖学解剖暴露 5 具女性尸体的盆底肌肉，整块取出并从每个需要的角度拍摄照片。将重叠的图像映射到虚拟几何体上，并手动追踪肌肉束。沿着每条轨迹计算切向向量；插值以定义连续的 3D 向量场；并投射到矢状面和轴面，以计算相对于耻骨尾骨线的角度。在每个供体中（Kuiper 检验）以及使用所有供体的平均值（William-Watson 检验）比较对侧和同侧的盆底肌肉。在每个供体中，对侧肌肉和除一对同侧肌肉外的所有肌肉都有显著差异（p<0.001）。当考虑平均值时，没有发现对侧或同侧的统计学差异，但所有比较的肌肉平均差异超过 10°。近距离摄影测量和随后的分析准确地量化了盆底肌肉的表面肌束方向。连续的 3D 向量场提供了改善女性盆底肌肉模拟所需的数据。
