OBJECTIVE: to determine the length of the C5 root. METHODS: the cervical spines of 50 patients (29 male and 21 female), between 26 and 68 years old, were studied with magnetic resonance imaging (Signa 1.5 T, axial images with 5 mm thickness, TR=850, TE=26, FOV=200). Only patients with cervical and/or arm pain were included. We measured (mm) the length of the right and left, third to seventh cervical roots. A comparison of the average lengths was made with the variance analysis for α=0.05 significance level and a 95% CI. Post-hoc comparisons were made with the Bonferroni test. RESULTS: it was noted that the side (right or left) and gender (male or female) had no influence on the roots' length differences (p>0.05). The C5 root had a length significantly different (p<0.05) from the others, but the shorter was C3. CONCLUSION: C5 root is not the shortest.
Laminectomy; Spinal cord diseases; Cervical vertebrae; cervical roots; Spinal nerve root; Magnetic resonance imaging
