SYMPATHETIC NERVE FIBERS OF THE CERVICAL POSTERIOR LONGITUDINAL LIGAMENT: THEIR DISTRIBUTION AND CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE

Objective To study the distribution of sympathetic nerve fibers in cervical posterior longitudinal ligament(CPLL),and its clinical significance.Methods Six fresh fetal cadavers were collected.CPLL was taken from C2/3,C4/5,and C6/7,respectively.One slice was taken from each site of C2/3,C4/5 and C6/7,and firstly stained by gold chloride to identify the existence of the nerve fibers.Remain frozen sections were then stained by sucrose-phosphate-glyoxylic acid(SPG) to display the sympathetic nerve fibers specifically.A semiquantitative analysis was done by employing Simple PCI and statistical software SPSS 17.Results A great quantity of sympathetic nerve fibers distributed in CPLL,being longitudinally or reticularly arranged.The distribution density of sympathetic fibers in CPLL was C2/3C4/5 C6/7(F=6.13,P0.05).Conclusion The sympathetic nerve fibers in CPLL irritated by cervical instability or hyperosteogeny might play an important role in cervical vertigo.