Statistical Observations on the Musculi Interspinales of the Japanese
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Okajimas Fol. anat. jap., 53 : 231-244, 1976 Statistical Observations on the Musculi Interspinales of the Japanese By Ryosuke Miyauchi Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Fukuoka University, Fukuoka 814, Japan -Received for Publication, March 15, 1976- Introduction The Mm. interspinales of man have been studied by Eisler (1912) and Virchow (1914-a) for Europeans, by Loth (1912) and Lanz (1922) for negroes, by Nishi (1921) for the Japanese, by Kurz (1922) for Chinese newborn and by Shindo (1930) for the Ainu, but all of these reports were based upon a small number of cases except for the study by Nishi. In the report of Nishi (1921), the Mm. dorsi proprii of a total of 100 sides of 50 Japanese were examined and the results were processed statistically. However, a description of the Mm. interspinales was made for only the cervical region in his report with no mention of these muscles in the thoracic, lumbar or sacral region. Conclusions based upon the examination of a few cases are inevita- bly accompanied by errors due to the influence of variations and indi- vidual differences. It is believed that as many cases as possible should be examined and the results are processed statistically in order to avoid this difficulty and determine the normal condition. Because of the aforementioned situation, the present study was made from the above standpoint to determine the normal condition of the Mm. interspinales of the Japanese and it is hoped that the results will serve to supplement the reports of these earlier investigators. During the examinations in this study, fine muscle bundles were found extending between adjacent tendons of insertion of the M. semi- spinalis cervicis or between the tendon of insertion of the M. semi- spinalis cervicis and the spinous process of the cervical vertebra. Al- though they were adhered to some degree with the Mm. interspinales cervicales, it was felt that these muscle bundles correspond to the so- called Fasciculi intertendinosi of Virchow (1907). A description of these muscle bundles will not be made in the present paper. 231 232 Ryosuke Miyauchi Material and Method The material consisted of 60 sides of 30 bodies (15 males and 15 females) selected at random from among the material used for training in anatomical dissection at the School of Medicine, Fukuoka University in 1974 (52 bodies) and 1975 (48 bodies) (total 100 bodies). All of these bodies had been fixed by the injection of a mixture of 10% formalin and 80% alcohol into the femoral artery. This study was made during the course of training of medical students in the practice of anatomical dissection. Inspection of the Mm. interspinales had been made prior to dissection of these muscles by the medical students. Examinations were made using dissection tweezers and a scapel under the magnifying lens equipped with an illumination attachment. Findings and Discussion The Mm. interspinales, located the most medially among the Mm. dorsi profundi, are muscles that connect adjacent spinous processes and are present in the area below the 2nd cervical vertebra. For the sake of convenience, these muscles were separated into the Mm. interspinales cervicales, the Mm. interspinales thoracales, the Mm. interspinales lumbales and the M. interspinalis sacralis according to the method of Eisler (1912) and Shindo (1930). Furthermore, the Mm. interspinales cervicales were subdivided into the M. interspinalis cervicalis longus (the so-called M. spinalis cervicis) which connects the spinous processes with at least one spinous process interposed between the origin and insertion, and the Mm. interspinales cervicales (breves) which connect adjacent spinous processes in the cervical region. Concerning the intrinsic nature of the M. interspinalis cervicalis longus, there is disagreement on whether this muscle should be included in the Interspinalis system or the Spinalis system. Virchow (1907, 1914-a, 1914-b, 1916), Nishi (1938), Ura (1970), Mori et al. (1970), etc. claim that the muscle described heretofore by the name of the M. spinalis cervicis should be included in the Interspinalis system as actually being the M. interspinalis cervicalis longus. In contrast to this, the previous study by this author had yielded findings that showed this muscle to be innervated by a branch from the same nerve system as that which supplied the M. semispinalis cervicis so that it had been concluded that this muscle was the genuine M. spinalis cervicis. Some room for question remained, however, concerning the constancy of this muscle in each case, and it seems that it can not yet necessarily be concluded that there is no possibility for this muscle to be innervated by a branch from the same nerve system as that which supplies the Statistical Observations on the Musculi Interspinales of the Japanese 233 Mm. interspinales (Miyauchi, 1975-a, 1975-b). The purpose of the present study, however, is the determination of the normal condition of the Mm. interspinales of the Japanese through statistical observations. Therefore, the muscle which is lo- cated near the ligamentum nuchae in the cervical region and connects the spinous processes with at least one spinous process interposed be- tween the origin and insertion, will be described collectively here as the M. interspinalis cervicalis longus (the so-called M. spinalis cervicis). The determination of its intrinsic nature will be left to future studies. Moreover, the Mm. interspinales thoracales were present only in the upper and lower thoracic regions with none in the mid-thoracic region. In view of the aforementioned situation, the muscles of the cervical region were classified into the M. interspinalis cervicalis longus (the so- called M. spinalis cervicis) and the Mm. interspinales cervicales (breves), while the muscles in the thoracic region were subdivided into the Mm. interspinales of the upper thoracic region and those of the lower thoracic region in the present paper. 1. Mm. interspinales cervicales These muscles, as mentioned earlier, were separated into the M. interspinalis cervicalis longus (the so-called M. spinalis cervicis) and the Mm. interspinales cervicales (breves). Examination of the ralationship between these muscles showed the former to be located on the dorsal side of the latter with some degree of adhesion between them at the origin and insertion. (a) M. interspinalis cervicalis longus (the so-called M. spinalis cervicis) (figure) This muscle was absent in many cases in this study and was present at the frequency of 81.7% (49 sides out of 60 sides). The frequency of this muscle in this study is slightly higher than that reported for the Japanese (Nishi, 1921) and the Ainu (Shindo, 1930), but the difference is not significant (Table 1). Nishi reported this muscle to be absent more frequently on the right side in the Table 1. Frequency of the M. Table 2. Absenceof the M. inter- interspinalis cervicalis longus (the so- spinalis cervicalis longus (the so-called called M. spinalis cervicis). M. spinalis cervicis). 234 Ryosuke Miyauchi (r) V CICE •••-e^i C.) a) bo 0 (r) sit2 c..) z a) (..) ci) 71•1 CI) • r. a) `-= H cr) •o4, o (1) Cti •,40 0 ai ° ,— o -1-.) •" E as U bio cz^) b.° Japanese, whereas Shindo found it to be absent more often on the left side in the Ainu. In contrast to this, the frequency of absence of this muscle showed no difference by side in the present study (Table 2 and Figure). The level of the upper and lower limits of this muscle had been examined statistically by Nishi (1921), but the method of processing Statistical Observations on the Musculi Interspinales of the Japanese 235 the data used by Nishi is inappropriate for cases having the multiple occurrence of this muscle on one side such as in the reports by Virchow (1914-a) and Kurz (1922). Cases with multiple occurrence of this muscle on the same side such as noted by Virchow and Kurz were also found in the present examination (14 sides, 28.6%). For example, on the left side of subject number 58 there were two muscles. That is, the upper one connected the spinous process of the 6th cervical vertebra with the spinous process of the axis, while the lower muscle which arose from the spinous process of the vertebra prominens, ran upward and inserted into the spinous processes of the 3rd and 4th cervical vertebrae by two digitations, and although these digitations of insertion ran along the ventral side of the upper muscle, no adhesion was noted between the upper and lower muscles. Two muscles were noted on the same side in 13 cases in the present examination. Furthermore, 1 case showed the presence of three muscles on 1 side (subject number 68, left side). Statistical examination of the upper and lower limits of this muscle by the simple method of Nishi is not felt to be appropriate for such cases having multiple occurrence of this muscle on one side. Therefore, the level of the upper and lower limits of the location of this muscle was processed statistically in the present study. The upper limit of the location of this muscle in the present ex- amination ranged from the axis to the 4th cervical vertebra and was most frequently at the level of the spinous process of the axis (36 sides, 73.5%). The upper limit of this muscle was also most often found to be the spinous process of the axis in the report of Nishi (1921), but at a considerably lower frequency than in the present study. The upper limit was reported to be the spinous process of the axis in the Ainu (Shindo, 1930), Europeans (Virchow, 1914-a) and Chinese newborn (Kurz, 1922) as well as in negroes (Loth, 1912 : Giacomini ; cited from Loth). Therefore, the upper limit of the location of this muscle in man may be regarded to be usually at the level of the spinous process of the axis (Table 3).