OBJECTIVES To test whether the position of lumbosacral dermatomes varies in the presence of transitional vertebrae. MATERIAL AND METHODS Fifty consecutive male patients were tested for thoracolumbar and lumbosacral transitional vertebrae by radiography and for the position of the dermatome gap between the lumbar dermatomes L1, L2, L3, and the sacral dermatomes S2 and S3. The dermatome gap was...

The aim of this study is to understand the influences of the social custom of foot binding on female osteoporosis by means of comparing and analyzing the lumbar vertebrae and hip bone mass differences between the foot-binding aged women and unbound women of the same age at Qujing District of Yunnan Province. Of the examined people, 81.37% suffer from osteoporosis on the basis of lumbar vertebra...

Scientific validation of reflexology requires an in-depth and noninvasive evaluation of "reflexology/reflex areas" in health and disease. The present paper reports the differential properties of "normal" and "abnormal" reflexology areas related to the lumbar vertebrae in a subject suffering from low back pain. The pathology is supported by radiological evidence. The reflexology target regions w...

Currently, the third generation aromatase inhibitors are the drugs of choice for treatment of early and advanced breast cancer in postmenopausal women. The negative impact of these drugs on bone health is the significant limiting factor during this therapy. Here we report the effect of two aromatase inhibitors viz. letrozole and exemestane alone and in combination with raloxifene on lumbar vert...

Posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) is a procedure used to treat problems such as disc degeneration, disc herniation, and spine instability. In this procedure, the surgeon works on the spine from the back and removes a spinal disc in the lower (lumbar) spine. The surgeon inserts bone graft material into the space between the two vertebrae where the disc was removed (the interbody space). T...

For the planning of surgical interventions of the spine exact knowledge about 3D shape and the local bone quality of vertebrae are of great importance in order to estimate the anchorage strength of screws or implants. As a prerequisite for quantitative analysis a method for objective and therefore automated segmentation of vertebrae is needed. In this paper a framework for the automatic segment...

INTRODUCTION Hansen et al [1] and de Zee et al [2] reported on a new and very detailed model of the human lumbar spine. In its current version the model comprises a total of 194 spinal muscle fascicles spanning the pelvis, sacrum, five lumbar vertebrae and the joint between the lumbar and thoracic parts. In addition, the abdominal muscles are included in the model and may contribute to extensio...

INTRODUCTION Diffuse Idiopathic Skeletal Hyperostosis (DISH) is a very rare cause of dysphagia when it occurs in the cervical spine. It can also affect the lumbar region where it causes deformity. CASE REPORT In this article, a rare case of Diffuse Idiopathic Skeletal Hyperostosis involving both the cervical and lumbar spine, presenting with dysphagia and spinal stiffness leading to a stoopin...

Although osteochondroma is the most common benign bone tumor, the lumbar spine is anuncommon localization for solitary osteochondroma. Solitary lumbar osteochondromas rarely affect the neurological structures, because most of the lesions grow out of the spinal canal. We report a 48-year-old patient suffering from right foot-drop due to acute compression of right L4 nerve root by...

Diagnosis of far lateml disc herniations has become more common in recent years. This study describes the surgical procedure used for 1 far late l disc herniations, shows the benefits derived from a far lateml approach and retrospectively evaluates the outcome of the surgery. Eight patients were included in the study, five females and three males. The mean age was 62 years (range, 45-77 years)....