Pathological findings on the cervical spine in clinically asymptomatic subjects on magnetic resonance imaging

The authors examined the cervical spine by magnetic resonance in 10 subjects lacking clinical and subjective symptoms of disease. The mean age of the subjects was 47.2 years. In seven subjects pathological changes were detected. The most frequent finding was prolapse or at least protrusion of a disc (in seven subjects) and the finding of dorsal osteophytes in five subjects. The authors discuss indication criteria for surgery of degenerative changes of the cervical spine. They emphasize the clinical picture of the disease, and maintain that imaging methods should not be overrated at to their importance in relation to the clinical status.