PRESENCE OF OSTEOPHYTES, SACRALIZATION OF FIFTH LUMBAR VERTEBRA, AND LUMBARIZATION OF FIRST SACRAL VERTEBRA IN ISOLATE OR ATTACHED TO THE BONES OF THE HIP HUMAN SACRUM

Introduction: The spine is the main part of the axial skeleton, composed of 33 superimposed bones called vertebrae. There are seven cervical vertebrae, twelve thoracic, five lumbar, five sacral and four coccygeal. However, anatomical variations can occur with some frequency. Both the fifth lumbar vertebra may be fused to the sacrum, characterizing the process of sacralization of L5, and the first sacral vertebra can be part of the lumbar spine, characterizing the process lumbarization of S1. Still, the formation of osteophytes in the vertebral bodies has been very prevalent. These variations, considered anomalies, cause a lot of damage to the normal function of the spine. Aim: To quantify the prevalence of osteophytes and lumbarization of the 1st. sacral vertebra in both isolated and attached to pelvis human sacra. Method: We analyzed all the sacrum bones alone or attached to pelvis of the ossuaries available in the laboratories of Anatomy in a private university located at Sao Paulo city. The pieces were individually evaluated for the presence of osteophytes, presence of sacralization of the 5th. lumbar vertebra and the 1st lumbarization sacral vertebra. Results: Of the 79 items evaluated, 32.9% had osteophytes. Of these, 88.5% were found in the 1st sacral vertebra. The occurrence of lumbarization of the 1st sacral vertebra was present in only one piece. Conclusion: Osteophytes have a considerable presence in the sample with a higher frequency of osteophytes located at the edge of a 1 st. sacral vertebra. Vertebral fusion was rarely observed in our studied bones sample.