A Study of the Anthropometry of the Radiographic Lumbar Pedicles of Nigerians in Niger-Delta Region

Abstract

The Lumbar Pedicles play an important role in the transmission of weight in the Lumbar spine. They are useful in the study of the spine especially in the radiological diagnosis of a mass lesion of the spine and in the assessment of pedicle screw size and position. 500 normal anterior-posterior radiographs of adult Nigerians of the Niger Delta region were studied. The width and height of each pedicle were measured. The mean height was least at L, in the males and L, in the females and highest at L, in both genders. There was a progressive increase in width from L,, the least to L, the widest in both genders. The males in general tended to have larger pedicles than the females but the differences were not statistically significant (P>0.05). The knowledge of these parameters is invaluable to the orthopedic surgeons and the radiologists.