Measurement of Lumber Canal Diameter in Sudanese Population using Computerize Tomography Scanning

Abstract

Defining the normal values of lumbar spinal canal amongst adult Sudanese are essential for a reliable evaluation of patients with low back pain or with signs and symptoms of lumbar canal Stenosis. In this study A Computed Tomography measurement was therefore undertaken to determine the normal range lumbar spinal canal diameter among adult Sudanese population. The measurement was done in46 subjects (28 male and 18 female) with age range between from 20 to 50 years old .The result shows that the transverse canal diameter was 28.3± 3.1 mm for male and 27.2±2.9 mm for female. While the midsagittal diameters was 15.4±1.8 mm in female and 14.7± 1.5mm for male. The transverse canal/body ratio was calculated to be 0.69 in males, and 0.68 in females , while the midsagittal canal to body ratio .47 in males, and 0.51 in females .The midsagittal diameter was wider in female more than male .while in transverse diameter in the male was wider. There is significant relation between the midsagittal diameter of the canal and the midsagittal diameter of the vertebral body. A comparison of the present study with the published data supports the view that there are probably subtle racial differences in size of the spinal canal thus emphasizing the need for compiling tables that are applicable to every population.