Cervical Nerve Root

Standard sections

C6 nerve root

The patient is lying on the back or in the lateral decubitus position. The high-resolution linear array transducer is applied to the lateral aspect of the neck to obtain a transverse view of the cervical spine. The bony surface of the transverse process is easily identified. The nerve root is visible as a rounded hypoechoic structure in between of the anterior and posterior tubercle, which impress as the “two-humped camel” sign. 

At the C6-level the anterior tubercle is frequently more prominent than the posterior one and the two-humped bony shape at the C6-level is broad with a large C6 nerve root in between.

((Bild 2))

C6 nerve root longitudinal

After identifying the nerve root it is placed in the middle of the screen before rotating the transducer to obtain a longitudinal view of the nerve root.

The sections are chosen to measure the largest anteroposterior diameter (LAPD) of the nerve roots at the end of the transverse process.

((Bild 3))