Table 2.
Width of the adult pubic symphysis derived from imaging studies
| Mean symphyseal width (mm) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Author (year) | Type of imaging study and no. of participants | Measurement plane/position of subjects | Site of measurements | Females | Males |
| Abramson et al.(1934) | Radiographic 33 nullipara 20 primipara 70 multipara 71♂ | Coronal/supine | Narrowest diameter between pubic bones | 4.1 (nullipara) 4.2 (primipara) 4.6 (multipara) | 4.4 |
| Barnes (1934) | Radiographic 130♂ 140♀ (non-pregnant) 81 primpara 99 multipara | Coronal/unknown | No details given | 4.0 (non-pregnant) No mean value provided for pregnant women | 4.2 |
| Roberts (1934) | Radiographic 59♀ | Coronal Supine or prone | Mid-point of pubic symphysis; no further details | 2.6 (nullipara) | |
| Vix & Ryu (1971) | Radiographic 200♂, 200♀ | Coronal/unknown | Greatest width in mid-third of symphysis anteriorly | 4.9 ± 1.1 | 5.9 ± 1.3 |
| Björklund et al.(1996) | Radiographic 15♀ Ultrasound 15♀ | Coronal/unknown Axial/unknown | Narrowest dimension of superior part of pubic symphysis; no further details | 2.9 ± 0.9 Parity unknown 3.2 ± 1.1 Parity unknown | |
| Sgambati et al.(1996) | Radiographic 64♂, 32♀ | Coronal/unknown | Width of superior, middle and inferior parts of pubic symphysis anteriorly | Superior: 4.3 Middle: 4.4 Inferior: 4.3 | Superior: 4.4 Middle: 4.9 Inferior: 4.6 |
| Wurdinger et al.(2002) | MRI 11♀ | Horizontal/supine | No details given | 5.0 ± 0.6 (nullipara) | |
| Alicioglu et al.(2008) | CT 264♂, 278♀ | Axial/supine | Width of anterior, middle and posterior parts of mid-pubic symphysis | Anterior: 12.6 Middle: 4.6 Posterior: 3.7 | Anterior: 11.8 Middle: 5.0 Posterior: 3.7 |
CT, computed tomography; MRI, magnetic resonance imaging.