Osteological study of lumbar vertebrae in Western Maharashtra population

Introduction: Anatomical studies have been conducted in different ethnic groups to measure the bony vertebral dimensions and to determine the normal limits which will serve as guidelines in assessing lumbar stenosis. Aim: To determine the normal range of measurements of lumbar vertebrae in Western Maharashtra population. Materials and methods: Various dimensions of lumbar vertebrae from L1 to L5 were measured in 420 lumbar vertebrae, collected from the Department of Anatomy, Government Medical College, Miraj, and other Medical colleges of Western Maharashtra. Results and discussion: Mean transverse diameter of vertebral body as well as of spinal canal and anteroposterior diameter of vertebral body were minimum at L1 and maximum at L5. The mean anteroposterior diameter of spinal canal showed a gradual decrease from L1 to L5 in both sexes. Making use of the above parameters, the canal body ratio and spinal index of Jones were calculated. These parameters were also compared with those of previous studies. Similarly, from the above parameters, the values suggestive of lumbar canal stenosis and intraspinal tumor were calculated. Conclusion: The present study shows regional and ethnic variation in the parameters of lumbar vertebrae, thus emphasizing the need to determine the normal range of values for different populations.