• Charles C Yu, Roger T Yuh, Navkirat S Bajwa, Jason O Toy, Uri M Ahn, and Nicholas U Ahn.
• *Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH †Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of South Alabama School of Medicine, Mobile, AL ‡Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT §New Hampshire NeuroSpine Institute, Bedford, NH ¶Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Cleveland, OH.
• Spine. 2015 Nov 1; 40 (21): 1639-46.

Study DesignAn anatomic study of pedicle dimensions was performed for lumbar vertebrae from American subjects.ObjectiveTo quantify the dimensions of the lumbar pedicles and to better define the demographic factors that could ultimately govern the caliber selection of pedicle screws.Summary Of Background DataTranspedicular screw fixation allows for segmental instrumentation into multiple vertebrae across multilevel fusion area, offering considerable biomechanical advantage over the conventional hook and lateral mass fixation. Large variations in morphology from previous studies may be related to differences in demographics, sample size, and methodology.MethodsFor this study, L1-L5 vertebrae from 503 American human cadavers were directly measured with a digital caliper. Examiner measured each vertebra to determine medial-lateral pedicle width (PW) and cranial-caudal pedicle height (PH). Demographic information regarding age, sex, and race, as well as body height and weight, was available for all 503 subjects.ResultsPH decreased in size caudally down the lumbar spine, but PW increased in size. The largest PH was at the L1 level with a mean of 15.75 mm. The widest PW was at the L5 level with a mean of 18.33 mm. Males have larger pedicles than females for all lumbar levels. The tallest and heaviest groups generally had larger pedicles than the shorter and lighter groups, respectively. Age and race did not consistently affect pedicle dimension in a statistically significant manner.ConclusionOur large-scale study of American specimens characterized the relationship between pedicle dimensions and a variety of demographic factors such as age, sex, body height, and weight. With substantial statistical power, the current study showed that male, taller, and heavier individuals had larger lumbar pedicles.Level Of Evidence3.

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