Abstract
Objective: Our study aimed at analyzing the morphometry of the lumbar spine at the CT scan and to specify its interest in spinal surgery. Methodology: This was a prospective study conducted from May 1, 2011 to July 31, 2011 in Ouagadougou. During this study, 170 patients aged 45.3 ± 12.5 years old with a sex ratio of 1.15 received a CT scan. The symptomatology was dominated by low back pain (60.6%) and lumbar osteoarthritis was the most common etiology (51.8%). The measurements were performed directly on axial and sagittal sections of the lumbar spine with measurement of the vertebral body, and pedicles. Results: The vertebral body increased forward from 24.9 mm in L1 to 26.7 mm in L5 and decreasing backwards from 26.6 mm in L1 to 23.4 mm in L5. The transverse diameter of the vertebral body ranged from 37 mm in L1 to 47.4 mm in L5 and the anteroposterior diameter of 27.6 mm in L1 to 33.5 mm in L5. The lumbar canal had an anteroposterior diameter that ranged from 15.9 mm in L1 to 15.5 mm in L5 and an interpedicular distance increasing from 21.54 mm in L1 to 28.42 mm in L5. The pedicle decreased in length from L1 (9.5 mm) to L5 (6.5 mm) while its width increased from 6.9 mm in L1 to 15.1 mm in L5. Its axis formed, with respect to the sagittal plane, an increasingly obtuse angle varying from 16.3 degrees in L1 to 29.1 degrees in L5 and with respect to the upper plate of the vertebral body, an increasingly acute angle (14, 2 degrees in L1 at 8.8 degrees in L5). Conclusion: The dimensions of the lumbar vertebrae in our series differ from those noted in Western populations in that they have a smaller vertebral body, a shorter, wider pedicle with an angle of inclination of the pedicle compared to the sagittal and horizontal planes more obtuse.
Highlights
Considered by many authors as a public health problem [1] [2] [3] [4], low back pain is a common reason for consultation and disability
Our study aimed at analyzing the morphometry of the lumbar spine at the CT scan and to specify its interest in spinal surgery
The lumbar canal had an anteroposterior diameter that ranged from 15.9 mm in L1 to 15.5 mm in L5 and an interpedicular distance increasing from 21.54 mm in L1 to 28.42 mm in L5
Summary
Considered by many authors as a public health problem [1] [2] [3] [4], low back pain is a common reason for consultation and disability It is the leading cause of disability and incapacity to work before age 45 in France [2]. Many studies on lumbar spine morphometry have been conducted in various populations [5]-[10], but none in West Africa. These studies have shown that there are sometimes variations in the anatomy of the lumbar vertebra depending on the type of population. The purpose of this work is to study the morphometry of the lumbar spine in the West African subject and to draw the interest in surgery
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