Rosero Salazar Doris H, Grewal Riana, Vimawala Anuj, Leotta Daniel F, Levendovszky Swati R, Liu Zi-Jun
Department of Orthodontics, University of Washington, Seattle, USA.
Center for Lung Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, USA.
J Oral Biol Craniofac Res. 2025 Jan-Feb;15(1):77-83. doi: 10.1016/j.jobcr.2024.12.004. Epub 2024 Dec 15.
To evaluate the pharyngeal airway dimensions and regional pharyngeal adipose distribution in the young adult minipig model.
Eight 7-8-months-old Yucatan minipigs, half male and female, were sedated and placed prone to scan the pharyngeal region. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed using dynamic turbo-field echo (TFE)-sequence with respiratory gating and adipose-weighted sequence. Respiratory airflow velocity, pressure, and volume were also recorded. The sizes of velopharyngeal and oropharyngeal airway, and retroglossal areas were measured coronally during inspiration and expiration. The airway volumes from the nasal cavity to the retroglossal space were segmented, reconstructed, and evaluated in sagittal views. The adipose distribution in the tongue base, soft palate, pharyngeal wall, tongue body, and masseter muscle (reference) were segmented and measured in sagittal and coronal planes.
The velopharyngeal and oropharyngeal areas were larger in inspiration than in expiration. These areas were also larger than that in the retroglossal space (p < 0.05). The nasal cavity showed a larger volume than that of the pharyngeal regions (p < 0.05). The adipose distribution was larger in the posterior region of the tongue base and anterior soft palate, both larger than the masseter muscle (p < 0.05).
The larger oropharyngeal dimensions and increased adipose distribution in the tongue base contribute to the functional morphology of the pharyngeal airway in the healthy minipig. These data provide the baseline for further analysis in enlarged and reduced tongue base minipig models.
评估年轻成年小型猪模型的咽气道尺寸和咽部区域脂肪分布情况。
选用8只7 - 8月龄的尤卡坦小型猪，雌雄各半，进行镇静后俯卧位扫描咽部区域。采用动态涡轮场回波（TFE）序列结合呼吸门控和脂肪加权序列进行磁共振成像（MRI）检查。同时记录呼吸气流速度、压力和容积。在吸气和呼气时冠状面测量腭咽和口咽气道以及舌后区域的大小。对从鼻腔到舌后间隙的气道容积进行矢状面分割、重建和评估。在矢状面和冠状面分割并测量舌根、软腭、咽壁、舌体和咬肌（参照）的脂肪分布情况。
腭咽和口咽区域在吸气时比呼气时大。这些区域也比舌后间隙的区域大（p < 0.05）。鼻腔容积大于咽部区域（p < 0.05）。舌根后部和软腭前部的脂肪分布较多，两者均大于咬肌（p < 0.05）。
口咽尺寸较大以及舌根脂肪分布增加有助于健康小型猪咽气道的功能形态。这些数据为进一步分析舌根增大和减小的小型猪模型提供了基线。
