MORPHOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF CERVICAL VERTEBRAL PEDICLES AND UNCINATE PROCESSES: CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS IN AN OSTEOLOGICAL SAMPLE FROM THE VINDHYA REGION

The cervical vertebrae support the skull, permit complex neck movements and protect the spinal cord and vertebral vessels. Precise morphometric knowledge of the cervical pedicle and uncinate process is essential for safe cervical instrumentation, decompression procedures and implant design. Because vertebral dimensions vary across populations, region-specific anatomical data are clinically relevant. Objective: To evaluate the morphometry of subaxial cervical vertebral pedicles and uncinate processes in an adult dry-bone osteological sample from the Vindhya region and to discuss their clinical implications. This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in the Department of Anatomy, Shyam Shah Medical College, Rewa, Madhya Pradesh, over 18 months after Institutional Ethics Committee approval. The study included 180 dried adult cervical vertebrae from C3 to C7. Bilateral pedicle width and height and uncinate process length, width and height were measured using a digital vernier caliper with 0.01 mm accuracy. The source data did not provide level-wise specimen counts; therefore, these counts have been flagged for author verification before submission. Data were analysed using SPSS. Mean, standard deviation and analysis of variance were used to compare measurements across cervical levels. Results: Pedicle dimensions increased in a caudal direction. Right pedicle width increased from 4.42 ± 0.55 mm at C3 to 6.08 ± 0.65 mm at C7, while right pedicle height increased from 5.49 ± 0.66 mm at C3 to 6.54 ± 0.60 mm at C7. Left-sided measurements showed a similar pattern. Uncinate process dimensions increased from C3 to C6 and then declined at C7. Right uncinate process width increased from 2.45 ± 0.32 mm at C3 to 3.57 ± 0.43 mm at C6, followed by a reduction to 2.80 ± 0.52 mm at C7. Most measurements showed minimal right-left asymmetry. ANOVA demonstrated highly significant inter-level differences for pedicle parameters (p < 0.001) and significant inter-level differences for uncinate process parameters (p < 0.05). The study provides regional baseline morphometric data from an osteological sample of subaxial cervical vertebrae from the Vindhya region. The observed progressive enlargement of pedicles from C3 to C7 and the peak uncinate process dimensions around C5-C6 may be useful for cervical pedicle screw placement, anterior cervical decompression, implant selection and avoidance of neurovascular complications, provided that individual preoperative imaging is used for surgical planning.