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.
