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Cervical Labpersonal mode

My hardware upgrade

Some developers upgrade their computer. I ended up upgrading my cervical spine. That is how my curiosity about exploring my internal architecture in 3D began.

An illustrative reconstruction based on a lateral X-ray. It is not an exact clinical reconstruction.

Back to the anatomy mode
Sources and methodology

An educational and experimental resource. It is not a medical or diagnostic tool and gives no clinical information about anyone. The texts are pending review by a health professional.

My hardware upgrade

  • The surgical level is not confirmed by the available documentation: the illustration places it at C4–C5, as I indicate.
  • The original X-ray is private and is not published on this site.
  • Firmware: stable. Manufacturer’s warranty: to be confirmed.

What is real and what is illustrative

  • Real anatomy: vertebrae, discs and the brachial plexus with its roots, trunks, divisions, cords and nerves (Open3D)
  • Real, approximately placed: the spinal cord (Human Reference Atlas)
  • Illustrative: the implant, generated parametrically on the model’s vertebrae
  • Artistic: colours and lighting

Limits

  • The brachial plexus (C5–T1 roots, trunks, divisions, cords and nerves) is only modelled on the right side.
  • The geometry of the long nerves is simplified for the web; their course is preserved.
  • The C1–C4 roots and the phrenic nerve are not shown: there is no verified open model.
  • The spinal cord is placed along the computed vertebral canal.
  • The implant sits at the C4–C5 segment as an illustration: the level is not clinically confirmed.

Sources and licences

Model derived from Open3DModel (AnatomyTOOL; LUMC et al.), CC BY-SA 4.0, and from the Human Reference Atlas, Spinal Cord Male v1.1 (HuBMAP), CC BY 4.0. Changes: selection of the cervical subset and of the brachial plexus branches, geometry simplification, approximate placement of the spinal cord within the spine, colours and an added illustrative implant. The derived model is distributed under CC BY-SA 4.0.