Sacralization of the 5 th lumbar vertebra and elongated sacral hiatus

The sacrum is a large, triangular fusion of five vertebrae. The sacrum may contain six vertebrae, by development of an additional sacral element by incorporation of the fifth lumbar (L5) or the first coccygeal vertebra. Sacralization of the fifth lumbar vertebra is a congenital anomaly and this variation was found in a bony pelvis among the collection of bones in the Department of Anatomy of NRS Medical College of Kolkata, India. The L5 sacralization may give rise to low back pain and other complications. Moreover, another sacrum was found with elongated, inverted ‘V’ shaped sacral hiatus and the sacral hiatus is important for caudal epidural block. These two sacra are described here with their variations.