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. 2008 Mar;7(1):9-16.
doi: 10.1016/j.jcme.2007.08.007.

Surface area congruence of atlas superior articulating facets and occipital condyles

Lafayette Briggs  1 , John Hart, Mercy Navis, Sheldon Clayton, Ralph Boone
Affiliations

Surface area congruence of atlas superior articulating facets and occipital condyles

Lafayette Briggs et al. J Chiropr Med. 2008 Mar.

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare the surface areas of 12 atlanto-occipital joints from 6 cadavers to determine how well their ipsilateral and contralateral surface areas matched.

Methods: Three methods were used. Method 1 consisted of digitized photographs downloaded to the Able Image Analyser software program (Ljubljana, Slovenia; http://able.mulabs.com). The perimeters were measured and expressed as square millimeters. Method 2 consisted of a point count method using moulds of the joint surfaces produced by pressing aluminum paper, leaving a clear imprint for analysis. Method 3 consisted of drawing outlines of the molds from method 2 onto transparencies and assessing overlap.

Results: Method 1 showed a moderate correlation of matched articular surfaces between the left C1 superior articulating surface and the left condyle (r = 0.573, P = .01). Method 2 showed moderate correlations between all surface areas that were analyzed. The matched pairs compared were left C1 superior articulating surface and left condyle (r = 0.588, P = .01) and right C1 and right condyle (r = 0.730, P = .001). The contralateral surfaces correlated were left C1 and right C1 (r = 0.596, P = .009) and right condyle and left condyle (r = 0.769, P = .000). Method 3 showed no statistically significant differences between surface areas.

Conclusions: All 3 methods revealed that the articular surfaces of the atlas and corresponding or contralateral condyle for specimens used in this study were not an exact match.

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Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1
A graph of maximum and minimum overlap after the occipital condyle transparency is placed over the corresponding atlas and a determination of difference to exactness of fit in millimeters is assessed. A total of 12 paired measurements were completed. The white bars represent the minimum difference measurements, and the dark bars represent the maximum difference to best fit measurement.
Fig 2
Fig 2
An enlarged illustration of a transparency overlay of the left condyle from cadaver 1046 (black outline) onto the left atlas from cadaver 1046 (red outline), following a determination of best fit. Multiple areas of overlap/under lap are evident. The right arrow points to an area in which there is 1 mm of overlap, and the left arrow is pointing to an area of 3 mm of underlap.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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