Eur J Anat, 15 (3): 155-161 (2011)

Morphometry of the lumbar pedicle in North West India

Kunal Chawla¹, Mahesh Sharma², Avinash Abhaya², Suman Kochhar³

¹Department of Anatomy, Gian Sagar Medical College & Hospital, Patiala, Punjab, India, ²Department of Anatomy, Govt. Medical College & Hospital, Chandigarh, India, ³Department of Radiodiagnosis, Govt. Medical College & Hospital, Chandigarh, India

ABSTRACT Any structural deviation of the pedicle may result in interference of the weight transmission mechanism and compression of neural structures. This comprehensive anatomical study was conducted on 30 dry L3 lumbar vertebrae and 10 adult male cadavers obtained from Department of Anatomy, Govt. Medical College Hospital, Chandigarh. The specimens belonged to a North West Indian population. In the present study, the following measurements were taken with the help of a vernier caliper: vertical height(h) and pediclewidth(w) in dry L3 lumbar vertebrae; interpedicular distance (GH) in dry L3 lumbar vertebrae and cadaveric specimens of all lumbar vertebra, and interpedicular distance between adjacent lumbar vertebrae in cadaveric specimen. In the dry bone specimens (L3) the mean height of the pedicle was 14.0 ± 1.1 mm on right side and on left side the mean was 14.1 ± 1.0 mm. The mean width of the pedicle was 8.7 ± 1.4 mm on right and on the left side the mean was 8.7 ± 1.7 mm. The mean interpedicular distance between the medial surface of the right & left pedicle of same vertebra was 20.5 ± 1.3 mm, whereas in the cadaveric specimen (L3) the mean value was 22.7 ± 1.73mm and the distance increased from L1 (21.6 mm ± 1.69) to L5 (25.4 mm ± 3.19). However, an increase was seen in the interpedicular distance between adjacent lumbar vertebrae from the Ll-L2 to L2-L3 levels and thereafter a decrease from the L3-L4 to L4-L5 levels on the right side. On the left side, a similar trend was seen, except that L2-L3 and L3-L4 had similar means. This study provides data from an Indian population for orthopaedic procedures.

Keywords: Pedicle, Vertebra, Lumbar, Spine, Morphometry