Vesna Stojanovic; Milena Trandafilovic; Miljana Pavlovic; Sladjana Ugrenovic; Braca Kundalic & Jovana Cukuranovic Kokoris

In literature were described variations in foramen transversarium in cervical vertebrae, as well as their clinical importance, and the information about them boils down to the individual case reports or population morphological studies. The aim of this paper is to contribute to the knowledge of morphological characteristics of the transverse openings on vertebrae of the cervical region. The study was performed on 60 typical vertebrae that are part of the collection of the Department of Anatomy in Nis. The characteristics of permanent openings were measured and accessory foramina were recorded. It was found that the diameter of the openings on the left side was 5.595±0.92 x 5.390±1.507 mm, and on the right 5.766±1.201 x 6.101±1.401 mm. Unilateral completely separated accessory foramina were recorded in 10.17 % of cases, dominant on the left side, and incompletely separated cases in 5.09 %. The research has demonstrated a relatively high incidence of accessory foramina and deviations from circular shaped openings.

KEY WORDS: Cervical vertebrae; Foramen transversarium; Variations; Morphometry.

STOJANOVIC, V.; TRANDAFILOVIC, M.; PAVLOVIC, M.; UGRENOVIC, S.; KUNDALIC, B. & CUKURANOVIC KOKORIS, J. Variations in foramen transversarium in typical cervical vertebra. Int. J. Morphol., 42(4):945-949, 2024.