Shortening of the cervical canal

Last revised by Karwan T. Khoshnaw on 15 Sep 2018

Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data

Citation:

Radswiki T, Khoshnaw K, Bell D, et al. Shortening of the cervical canal. Reference article, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 16 Apr 2024) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-15284

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-15284

Permalink:

https://radiopaedia.org/articles/15284

rID:

15284

Article created:

7 Oct 2011, The Radswiki ◉

Disclosures:

At the time the article was created The Radswiki had no recorded disclosures.

View The Radswiki's current disclosures

Last revised:

15 Sep 2018, Karwan T. Khoshnaw

Disclosures:

At the time the article was last revised Karwan T. Khoshnaw had no recorded disclosures.

View Karwan T. Khoshnaw's current disclosures

Revisions:

6 times, by 4 contributors - see full revision history and disclosures

Systems:

Obstetrics, Gynaecology

Sections:

Signs

Tags:

stub, cases

Synonyms:

Short cervical length
Shortened uterine cervix
Uterine cervical shortening
Cervical shortening
Short cervix
Short uterine cervix
Short uterine cervical length

Shortening of the uterine cervical canal as the name implies refers to an abnormal shortening of the uterine cervical length. It is considered a sign of cervical incompetence during pregnancy and can lead to premature delivery.

Pathology

Etiology

primary (i.e. congenital/idiopathic)
secondary
- multiple gestations
- obstetric/gynecological trauma
- increase in prostaglandins ⁴

Radiographic features

In a single pregnancy, the cervical length is usually considered to be ~4 cm up until 37 weeks, while in multifetal pregnancy it can often be <3 cm by 32 weeks ¹.

An endocervical canal length of <3 cm or <2.5 cm (depends on the institution) is considered diagnostic of shortening ^4,5.