Our purpose is to determine the upper limits of normal prevertebral soft tissue thickness and analyze the effect of age, sex and body mass index (BMI) on MRI. To the best of our knowledge, the relationship among PVST thickness and body mass index has not been evaluated earlier. Material and Methods: PVST thickness was measured in 210 patients undergoing cervical MRI for disc pathology. Subjects with congenital anomaly, trauma and malignancy were excluded from the study. Results: A total of 123 subjects (F/M: 91/32; mean age: 42.98±13.45; age range: 20-73) were included to the study. There was a statistically significant relationship between BMI and PVST thickness. The upper limits of normal for the thickness of the PVST were 10.3 mm at C1, 6.8 mm at C2, 7.1mm at C3, 15.9 mm at C4, 19 mm at C5, 18.8 at C6 and 21.1 at C7 levels. There was a statistically significant relationship between sex, age and PVST thickness at C6 and C7 levels. Conclusions: The normal levels of PVST thickness in the cervical region obtained on MRI could be used as part of a screening test in future. BMI influence PVST thickness probably by changing the thickness of fat plane in the cervical region. Sex and age appear to be the determinants of the thickness at C6 and C7 levels.

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