Supernumerary lumbar ribs are usually asymptomatic and discovered incidentally during routine diagnostic radiography. During a routine inventory of the research skeletal repository at the University of the Witwatersrand, a rare case of bilateral supernumerary ribs on the first lumbar vertebra was observed. The skeletal specimen belonged to a 70-year-old African male whose recorded cause of deat...

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)....

The azygos vein is the vein that drains the thoracic wall and upper lumbar region. It is the important channel connecting the two venae cavae. Its origin is variable. On developmental grounds it should originate from the posterior surface of the inferior vena cava near the renal veins. This is known as lumbar azygos vein. In the absence of lumbar azygos, it is formed by the union of ascending l...

OBJECTIVE We analyzed the clinical and radiologic features of posterior apophyseal ring separation (PARS) with lumbar disc herniation and suggest the proper management options according to the PARS characteristics. METHODS We reviewed case series of patients with PARS who underwent surgery of lumbar disc herniation. Preoperative symptoms, neurologic status, Body Mass Index, preoperative and p...

BACKGROUND Although cryptococcosis mainly occurs in the central nervous system and lungs in immunocompromised hosts, it can involve any body site or structure. Here we report the first case of primary cryptococcosis of a lumbar vertebra without involvement of the central nervous system or lungs in a relatively immunocompromised individual with rheumatoid arthritis and scleroderma. CASE PRESEN...

The present case report describes the topographical anatomy and radiological study of an asymmetrical inferior articular process of a lumbar vertebra, which was detected during routine osteology teaching of undergraduate medical students. The inferior articular process of the lumbar vertebra on the left side was rudimentary, while that on the right was normal in size. On the left side an additi...

Although little attention has been paid to the less common rheumatoid involvement of the thoracic and lumbar regions, some studies have shown that rheumatoid synovitis with erosive changes can develop in these diarthrodial joints. We report a patient with seropositive rheumatoid arthritis (RA) involving the thoracic and lumbar vertebra with a collapse of the T12 vertebra, who was treated with p...