Sagittal Plane Geometry of Cervical, Thoracic, and Lumbar Endplates.

Background: Many studies have emphasized the importance of interface contact between implants and the vertebral endplate (VE). The goal of this study was to analyze the shape and other specific parameters of the VE to provide reference data for better implant interface contact in intervertebral disc space procedures.
Methods: Cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine midsagittal plane magnetic resonance images of 100 adults (58 women) were analyzed. The morphology of the VEs was classified as concave, convex, flat, or irregular. Midsagittal endplate length (ML), endplate concavity depth (ECD), and endplate concavity axis (ECA) location were measured in the midsagittal plane. The parameters were compared between the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spines and between the sexes.
Results: The VE morphology, ML, ECD, and ECA showed variations along the spine, mainly in the cervical and lower lumbar spines. The sagittal geometry of the VE was not flat or uniform along the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spines. Different morphological types were observed along different spinal segments and according to sex. In the cervical spine, the majority of cranial VEs were flat, while caudal VEs were mostly concave.
Conclusion: Sagittal VE geometry should be taken into consideration during the use of intervertebral cages or disc arthroplasty.
Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.
(This manuscript is generously published free of charge by ISASS, the International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery. Copyright © 2022 ISASS. To see more or order reprints or permissions, see http://ijssurgery.com.)