MORPHOLOGICAL OBSERVATION ON THE OSSEOFIBROUS LUMBAR VERTEBRAL CANAL AND NERVE ROOT CANALS

Sixty-five fresh or preserved lumbar vertebral columns of the Chinese were dissected, observed and measured with radiological and histological aids. The data of the sagittal and transverse diameters of the spinal dural sac, the anterior and posterior sac-canal space and the thickness of the ligamenta flava on every level of the lumbar spine were reported. The lumbar vertebral canal and nerve root canals are of osseofib-rous makeup. Besides the bony changes, the morphological changes of articulations and fibrous tissues such as intervertebral discs and ligamenta flava also play an important role in causing the lumbar spinal stenosis syndrome. The degeneration of the lumbar spine may mainly influence the articular segments other than the intraosseous segments and involve both the central vertebral canal and the nerve root canals.