title: The lumbar spinal canal and its anatomical walls in Nigerian children.
abstract: A prospective study of the lumbar spinal canal and its anatomical walls was carried out by measuring the radiological characteristics of 68 healthy Nigerian children aged 6 to 11 years (mean 8.5 years). The study showed no features of congenital stenotic lumbar canal in all the children. The interpedicular diameter (IPD) and the vertebral diameter (VD) increased progressively in a cranio-caudal fashion. The pedicular height (PH) increased from L1 to L2 and thereafter decreased from L3 to L5. The pedicular diameter (PD) increased progressively from L1 to L5. The canal-to-body ratio (CBR) was found to approximate to a constant of 0.65. Age does not have significant positive correlation with the IPD, VD, PH, and PD(P greater than 0.05).
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria.
authors.forename: P U
authors.initials: PU
authors.lastname: Nwoha
authors.forename: Z O
authors.initials: ZO
authors.lastname: Alabi
authors.forename: A E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Caxton-Martins
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000886:Anthropometry; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009549:Nigeria / Q000453:epidemiology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011859:Radiography; D012016:Reference Values; D013130:Spinal Stenosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology*