Morphometric Study of the Foramen Transversarium in Cervical Vertebrae

There are seven cervical vertebrae in human body. It has foramen transversarium (FT) in their transverse process contains vertebral artery, vein & sympathetic never plexus, only vein will pass through C7, cervical vertebrae are of two types typical (C3-C6) and atypical (C1, C2& C7). The main objective of this study was to observe and describe the anatomy and variations in the foramen transversarium 200 cervical vertebrae (102 typical & 98 atypical) with unknown age and sex from the department of anatomy were analyzed which included morphometry, morphology and incidence of foramen of vertebrae with digital vernier caliper accuracy of 0.01 mm. The mean diameter of anteroposterior and transverse of both right and left was measured and tabulated. Mean diameter of cervical vertebrae (5.69±1.08mm) & (5.84±1.10mm) of right side, (5.69±1.06mm) & (5.82±1.19mm) of left side. For shapes type A-F, Type A (round) shape is commonly seen (56%) in right and (46%) in left side. The anatomical knowledge of these variations is useful for spine surgeons in preoperative planning and for preventing vertebral vessel and sympathetic nerve injuries during cervical surgical approaches.