Cross-sectional study of the neural ossification centers of vertebrae C1–S5 in the human fetus

Abstract

The neural ossification centers show neither male-female nor right-left differences. The neural ossification centers are characterized by the maximum length for C2-C6 vertebrae, the maximum width for the proximal thoracic spine, and both the maximum cross-sectional area and volume for C3 vertebra. There is a sharp decrease in size of the neural ossification centers along the sacral spine. A decreasing sequence of values for neural ossification centers along the spine from cervical to sacral appears to parallel the same direction of the timing of ossification. The quantitative growth of the neural ossification centers is of potential relevance in the prenatal diagnosis and monitoring of achondrogenesis, caudal regression syndrome, diastematomyelia and spina bifida.