Features of the brainstem and its cavities in three-year-old children

Background: Little is known about the brainstem in healthy three-year-old children; yet there is a need for further studies because children at this age are growing and developing rapidly. Objective: To study differences in the brainstem and its cavities in healthy three-year-old children, considering the sex and bilateral asymmetry. Materials and methods: We retrospectively analyzed 120 MRI scans of healthy three-year-old children (60 boys and 60 girls) to study the brainstem features. The following parameters of the brain stem structures were assessed: 1) the length of the pons (mm), 2) the height of the pons (mm), 3) the length of the medulla oblongata (mm), 4) the height of the medulla oblongata at the upper and lower borders (mm), 5) the length and height of the vermis (mm), 6) the width of the cerebellum (mm), 7) the length, width, height of the cerebellar hemispheres (mm), 8) the length and height of the third ventricle, 9) the length of the cerebral aqueduct (mm), 10) the length and height of the fourth ventricle (mm). We assessed the compliance of quantitative parameters with the normal distribution according to the Kolmogorov-Smirnov criterion. We used Microsoft Excel 2016 tables to accumulate, correct and systemize the raw data. Statistica 10.0 software (StatSoft. Inc., USA) along with the corresponding statistical method provided the digital data. The differences were considered significant at P < .05. Results: We aimed to study sex-related differences in the basic sizes of the brainstem. The length and height of the pons, the length of the third and the fourth ventricles, and the size of the cerebellar hemispheres were greater in boys. We found a bilateral asymmetry in cerebellar hemispheres (length, width, and height). Conclusions: The changes in the complex brainstem of three-year-old children are sex-dependent and consist in active transformations of its structures.