VARIATIONS IN MORPHOLOGY OF LUMBAR SPINAL CANAL IN DEGENERATIVE DISCOPATHY

Background. Lumbar spine, due to the large range of motion, is exposed to frequent occurrence of intervertebral disc disease. Discopathy initiates a series of changes as a result of a change in the morphology of the spinal canal. With age soft tissue undergoes degeneration as well as bone tissue, which favors the formation of the spinal canal stenosis. The aim of the study was to analyze and define the connections between the overload of intervertebral discs and changes in the volume of the spinal canal structures.

Material and methods. A group of 60 patients was examined using a multi-row helical CT scanner.

Results. Studies have shown that the shape of the spinal canal varies with age and reduces its capacity toward the sacral spine. There is the occurrence of three types of the spinal canal shape: oval, triangular and clover, which is the side effect of smoothing out of canal side pouches due to degenerative growth of zygapophysis.

Conclusions. Based on the analysis it was found that discopathy took place more often in the triangular canal, and less often in the clover-shaped canal, which indicates that the prevalence of discopaty may be related to the capacity of the spinal canal.