Comparative Geometrical Dimensions of Chinese and Western Cervical Vertebrae

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the comparative geometrical dimensions of Chinese and Western cervical vertebrae. A Chinese neck model, based on MRI/CT scan images and frozen slice images from a 35-year-old male cadaver, was established and compared with literature data and a newly- developed Western neck finite element model. Results showed that the geometrical dimensions of Western cervical vertebrae are approximately 20% greater than the Chinese cervical vertebra on the average, and the geometrical dimension ratio at different cervical levels (i.e. C3-C7) of these two cervical vertebrae is different (range 0.96-1.41). Besides, at every level of all cervical vertebrae except C2 there exist evident geometrical differences between the Western and Chinese neck model. In summary, it is necessary to apply the intact anatomic parameters of the Chinese neck rather than the scaled geometry of the Western neck to establish a standard mid-size Chinese neck finite element model.