Anatomy and Correlation of the Coracoid Process and Coracoclavicular Ligament Based on Three-Dimensional Computed Tomography Reconstruction and Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Abstract

Background

The anatomy of the coracoid process and coracoclavicular (CC) ligament have been described and the correlation between them has been assessed based on 3-dimensional computed tomography (CT) reconstruction and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which provide a guide for coracoclavicular ligament reconstruction.

Material/Methods

Data were collected from 300 patients who underwent both CT and MRI of the shoulder joint from January 2017 to January 2019 at the Jiang’an Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The coracoid process was observed and classified and parameters of the CC ligament were measured according to different corneal types. All of the statistics were collected and classified by 2 radiologists, and average values were determined.

Measurements of segments were taken as follows: ab – In the coronal plane, the length of the CC ligament from the central point of the CC ligament at the clavicular attachment to the CC ligament at the center of the CC attachment); ac – The distance from the center point of the CC ligament at the supraclavicular attachment to the acromioclavicular joint; de – In the sagittal plane, the length of the CC ligament from the center of the clavicular attachment to the coracoid attachment point; fg – The maximum diameter of the CC ligament at the anterior and posterior margins of the clavicle attachment; hi – The largest diameter of the CC ligament at the anterior and posterior edge of the coracoid process attachment; dj – The distance of the coracoclavicular ligament from the center point of the coracoid process attachment to the coracoid process tip; kl – The distance in the supraclavicular plane from the coracoclavicular ligament to the subcoracoid process.

Results

The analysis showed that there are 5 types of coracoid process: gourd (31%), short rod (20%), long rod (22.3%), wedge (10.3%), and water drop (6.3%). There were statistically significant differences between the lengths of the ac and hi segments in the among the wedge and gourd-type and the short rod and water drop-type coracoid processes. There were statistically significant differences between the lengths of the ab, de, and fg segments in the short rod, gourd, and long rod-type coracoid processes. There were statistically significant differences between the lengths of the ac, fg, hi, dj, and kl segments in the water drop, gourd, and long rod-type coracoid processes.

Conclusions

The present study indicated that measurement of the CC ligament and the different shapes of the coracoid process provide an anatomical basis for the diagnosis and treatment of shoulder diseases and the data can be used to improve the safety of CC ligament reconstruction.