Morphometry of human neck muscles

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Kamibayashi, Lynne K.¹; Richmond, Frances J. R.¹

Morphometry of human neck muscles

Spine. June 15, 1998;23(12):1314-1323

©1998 Lippincott-Raven Publishers

Affiliations

¹Medical Research Council Group in Sensory-Motor Neuroscience, Department of Physiology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario
Abstract and keywords

Study Design: Cadaveric dissections were used to study muscle morphometry.

Objective: To describe systematically the musculotendinous lengths, fascicle lengths, pennation angles, and physiologic cross-sectional areas of neck and shoulder muscles implicated in head movement.

Summary of Background Data: In previous studies of neck-muscle anatomy, researchers described only a subset of muscle features, often using crude or indirect methods. None used microdissected muscles to correct measured parameters for the presence of multiple fiber compartments, internal aponeuroses, or variations in fiber or sarcomere length required for quantitative models of force-generating capabilities.

Methods: Muscle mass, pennation angle, fascicle length, and sarcomere length were measured in 14 neck muscles from 10 human cadavers. Architecturally complex muscles with multiple attachments were divided into subvolumes, and each subvolume was examined from both the superficial and deep surfaces. Internal aponeuroses were microdissected within muscles to characterize architectural specializations. Physiologic cross-sectional areas were calculated from the morphometric data.

Results: The neck musculature was architecturally complex. Many muscles crossed two or more joints and had multiple attachments to different bones. In some, the presence of tendons and aponeuroses was associated with specializations in fascicle organization. Considerable interindividual variation was found in the number and location of tendinous insertions of the scalenes and longissimus capitis muscles. In addition, rhomboideus showed significant variations in its size and shape. The cross-sectional areas of neck muscles from large and small subjects did not scale proportionately with body height and weight, nor did individual muscles with widely varying cross-sectional areas (0.3-15.3cm2) scale from one subject to another.

Conclusions: The accuracy of morphometry can be improved by incorporating measurements made by microdissecting neck muscles. The presence of aponeurotic attachments can greatly shorten fascicle length; failure to identify such attachments can lead to underestimates of cross-sectional areas. Accuracy of a generalized model of the neck is also improved by normalizing sarcomere lengths in all muscles.

Keywords: biomechanics, human neck muscles, modeling, muscle architecture, physiologic cross-sectional area
Links

DOI: 10.1097/00007632-199806150-00005

PubMed: 9654620

WoS: 000074368700004

Ovid: 00007632-199806150-00005
History

Received: 1997-02-01

Accepted: 1997-05-04

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2016	Feller L, Kleinbach C, Fehr J, Schmitt S. Incorporating muscle activation dynamics into the Global Human Body Model. In: Proceedings of the 2016 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Injury. September 14-16, 2016; Malaga, Spain.512-523.
2005	Esat V, Acar M. A multi-body human spine model for dynamic analysis in conjunction with the FE analysis of spinal parts. In: Proceedings of the 1st Ohio State University Injury Biomechanics Symposium. May 19-21, 2005; Columbus, OH.
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1998	Vasavada AN, Li S, Delp SL. Influence of muscle morphometry and moment arms on the moment-generating capacity of human neck muscles. Spine. February 15, 1998;23(4):412-422.
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2020	Fanton M. Effect of Cervical Spine and Helmet Properties on Traumatic Brain Injury [PhD thesis]. Stanford University; July 2020.
2014	De Bruijn E. Isometric and Dynamic Control of Neck Muscles: Reflexive Contributions and Muscle Synergies [PhD thesis]. Delft, The Netherlands: Technische Universiteit Delft; 2014.
2014	Newell R. Are Inversion, Posture, Motion and Muscle Effects Important to Spinal Alignment? [PhD thesis]. Vancouver, BC: University of British Columbia; April 2014.
2019	Fice JB. Neuromechanics of Neck Muscles: Implications for Whiplash Injury [PhD thesis]. Vancouver, BC: University of British Columbia; April 2019.
2001	Hasselquist L. The Neurophysiologic Mechanisms of the Cervical Spine During Whiplash [PhD thesis]. University of Iowa; December 2001.
2010	Madsen Baker K. Effects of Sternocleidomastoid Muscle Fatigue on Cervical Spine Kinematics and Postural Responses to Trunk Perturbation [Master's thesis]. University of Guelph; December 2010.
2020	Shen D. Investigation of Whiplash Associated Disorders Using Finite Element Neck Models With Active Musculature in Frontal, Rear and Lateral Impact [Master's thesis]. University of Waterloo; 2020.
2016	Shaw C. Identifying Axonal Injury in Cervical Facet Joint Capsules as a Result of High-Rate Tensile Stretch in an in-Vivo Goat Model [Master's thesis]. University of Windsor; 2016.
2012	Dawson RM. Comparison of Adult and Pediatric Neck Muscle Strength and Response [PhD thesis]. Detroit, MI: Wayne State University; August 2012.
2011	Zheng L. Sex Differences in Human Neck Musculoskeletal Biomechanics and Modeling [PhD thesis]. Pullman, WA: Washington State University; May 2011.