Constitutional features of structures of skull base in children aged 8—12 years old in normality and with recurrent subluxation of C1—C2 vertebrae

Background. The skull base (SB) and the cervical spine (CS) are a unique anatomical system. Information about its constitutional and individual variability in norm and pathology is insufficient. Objective. The goal of the study is to determine the constitutional features of the structures of the skull base in children aged 8—12 years in the norm and with recurrent subluxation of the C1—C2 vertebrae. Material and methods. Computed tomograms (CT) of 212 children without pathologies of the cervical spine and 96 with recurrent subluxations of the C1—C2 vertebrae were examined. The study was conducted on a 64-slice GE Optima CT 660 computed tomography scanner. CT morphometry was performed using Radiant software. The width and length of the skull base, the longitudinal and transverse dimensions of the foramen magnum (FM) and the occipital condyles (OC) were determined. Based on the basilar index (BI), the subjects were divided into groups with dolichopasilar, mesobasilar, and brachybasilar forms of the skull base (SBS). Methods of variation statistics were applied. Single-factor analysis of variance. Results. The longitudinal diameters of the FM had significant differences in children without pathology of the cervical spine: in individuals with dolicho- and mesobasilar SBS. The dimensions of the OC differed significantly in individuals without cervical spine pathology: longitudinal on the right in children with dolicho- and mesobasilar SBS, on the left — with dolicho- and brachybasilar SBS; in subjects with recurrent subluxation of C1—C2: longitudinal between groups with dolicho- and brachybasilar SBS. In subjects without CS pathology, a relationship between SBS was found: noticeable with the longitudinal dimensions of the occipital condyles — h=0.548 on the right, h=0.502 on the left; moderate — with a transverse dimensions of the right condyle of the OB: h2=0.336. In children with CS pathology, the connection between the structures of skull base and SBS was not identified. Conclusion. In children without CS pathologies, a dependence of the skull base structures on the SBS was revealed. In those examined with recurrent subluxation of C1—C2, such a dependence was not found.