Inclusion Criteria:  diagnosed with CSM and operated on by one senior orthopedist available preoperative MRI results high-quality image data with no motion artifacts available preoperative and long-term follow-up (≥1 years) mJOA score  Exclusion Criteria:  prior head or neck surgery a history of notable additional diseases (spinal cord tumor, multiple sclerosis, syringomyelia, spinal cord injury, or motor neuron disease).