MRI measurements of the cervical spine and their correlation to Pavlov's ratio.

Study Design: Pavlov's ratio from plain radiographs in patients with neck pain but no radicular symptoms was compared with the areas of the cervical spinal cord and cerebrospinal fluid column on magnetic resonance scans.

Summary Of Background Data: The area of the cervical canal or cord obviously depends on both the sagittal and transverse diameters. Although the pathology in stenosis of the cervical spine is mainly in the sagittal plane, narrowing only in the sagittal diameter may not indicate significant reduction in the area of the canal.