Normative Cross-Sectional Area of the C5-C8 Nerve Roots Using Ultrasonography

Haun, Daniel W.; Cho, John C.S.; Kettner, Norman W.

doi:10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2010.05.012

« Previous Next »Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology
Volume 36, Issue 9 , Pages 1422-1430, September 2010

Normative Cross-Sectional Area of the C5-C8 Nerve Roots Using Ultrasonography

Department of Radiology, Department of Radiology, Logan College of Chiropractic, Chesterfield, MO

Received 29 December 2009; received in revised form 8 April 2010; accepted 14 May 2010.

Abstract

This study will define a normal range of values for the cross-sectional area (CSA) of the C5-C8 ventral rami in normal subjects and will assess the interexaminer reliability of the CSA measurements. We also describe the normal sonoanatomy of the C5-C8 ventral rami. Thirty-three normal subjects (20 female) were scanned bilaterally. The mean CSA and reference ranges for the C5, C6, C7 and C8 ventral rami were 7.1 ± 4.1 mm², 10.6 ± 4.3 mm², 12.1 ± 4.1 mm² and 10.7 ± 4.8 mm², respectively. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) demonstrated good reliability with a coefficient of 0.76 overall, with individual level coefficients at C5, C6, C7 and C8 of 0.69, 0.71, 0.76 and 0.72, respectively. This is the first study to obtain normative CSA measurements of the C5-C8 ventral rami. (E-mail: daniel.haun@logan.edu)

Key Words: Ultrasonography, Spinal nerve roots, Brachial plexus, Radiculopathy, Cervical vertebrae