Chinese Journal of Tissue Engineering Research ›› 2025, Vol. 29 ›› Issue (15): 3138-3146.doi: 10.12307/2025.197

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Digital anatomical characteristics of morphological development of neurocentral synchondrosis of cervical vertebra in children

Yi Yuying1, Sun Ruifen2, Yin Zhaozheng1, Li Lei1, Zhang Fengzhen1, Li Ziyu1, Li Kun3, 4, Ren Xiaoyan5, Wang Xing3, 4, Zhang Shaojie3, 4   

  1. 1Graduate School, Inner Mongolia Medical University, Hohhot 010110, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China; 2Imaging Center, Second Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University, Hohhot 010000, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China; 3Department of Human Anatomy, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Inner Mongolia Medical University, Hohhot 010110, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China; 4Digital Medical Center, Inner Mongolia Medical University, Hohhot 010110, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China; 5Department of Endocrinology, Affiliate Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University, Hohhot 010050, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China
  • Received:2024-03-20 Accepted:2024-05-20 Online:2025-05-28 Published:2024-11-04
  • Contact: Corresponding author: Zhang Shaojie, MD, Professor, Master’s supervisor, Department of Human Anatomy, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Inner Mongolia Medical University, Hohhot 010110, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China; Digital Medical Center, Inner Mongolia Medical University, Hohhot 010110, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China Co-corresponding author: Wang Xing, MD, Associate professor, Master’s supervisor, Department of Human Anatomy, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Inner Mongolia Medical University, Hohhot 010110, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China; Digital Medical Center, Inner Mongolia Medical University, Hohhot 010110, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China
  • About author:Yi Yuying, Master candidate, Graduate School, Inner Mongolia Medical University, Hohhot 010110, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China Sun Ruifen, Imaging Center, Second Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University, Hohhot 010000, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China Yi Yuying and Sun Ruifen contributed equally to this article.
  • Supported by:
    National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 82360892 (to ZSJ); Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Health Science and Technology Program, No. 202201219 (to ZSJ); Department of Education’s Science and Technology Leading Talents and Innovation Team Building Project, No. NMGIRT2307 (to ZSJ); Key Project of Inner Mongolia Medical University, No. YKD2022ZD007 (to ZSJ); Inner Mongolia Medical University Doctoral Start-up Fund Project, No. YKD2023BSQD011 (to ZSJ); 2022 Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Health Science and Technology Program Project, No. 202201354 (to SRF)

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Abstract: BACKGROUND: With the increasing attention of scholars at home and abroad to children’s cervical spine-related diseases, the demand for exploring the anatomical indicators and changes of cervical spine morphology and development in children of different ages is increasing.
OBJECTIVE: To explore and analyze the morphological changes of children with different ages and vertebral sequences by measuring the anatomical position indexes of C2-C7 neurocentral synchondrosis in children aged 1-6 years.
METHODS: Normal cervical spine CT images were retrospectively collected from 160 children aged 1-6 years at provincial tertiary hospitals. They were divided into six groups according to an age group of 1 year. The raw data of consecutively scanned cervical spine tomography images were imported into Mimics 16.0 software. The positional anatomical indexes of cervical spine segments C2-C7 in coronal and transverse planes were measured and analyzed under the two-dimensional image window by choosing the measurement tools under the toolbar of Measurements.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: (1) The distance between the two sides of C2-C7 neurocentral synchondrosis and the distance between the left and right sides of neurocentral synchondrosis and the transverse process gradually increased with age. The overall development of vertebrae in each cervical vertebral segment was faster than the ossification of the neurocentral synchondrosis. (2) The cross-sectional angles on both sides of C2-C7 neurocentral synchondrosis gradually increased with age, and the angles between the left and right sides of neurocentral synchondrosis and the anterior and posterior edges of the vertebral body gradually decreased. Both sides of the neurocentral synchondrosis in cervical vertebral segments tended to grow toward the arch site, which mainly promoted the growth and development of the arch. (3) Except for C7, the angle between the coronal planes on both sides of the cervical spine changed little with the descending neurocentral synchondrosis of the cervical spine, and the neurocentral synchondrosis of the cervical spine was more inclined to longitudinal growth and ossification. (4) The neurocentral synchondrosis position changes in C7 were significantly different from those in the rest of the cervical vertebrae. (5) The anatomical indexes of C2-C7 neurocentral synchondrosis position in children have obvious development rules among different ages and vertebral bodies, and these rules are helpful for the clinical diagnosis and treatment of cervical spine diseases in children.

中国组织工程研究杂志出版内容重点：人工关节；骨植入物；脊柱；骨折；内固定；数字化骨科；组织工程

Key words: children, cervical vertebrae, cervical spine disease, neurocentral synchondrosis, morphological development

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