Kambin's triangle and the position of the dorsal nerve root in the lumbar neural foramen

INTRODUCTION: As a result of the increased utilization of neurosurgical arthroscopic techniques, investigations into population and sex-specific trends of anatomical considerations have become increasingly important. This study aimed to investigate and describe aspects of the neuroanatomical morphometry of lumbar spines in a cadaveric and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sample. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty white adult (>18 years) cadavers (9 males; 11 females) were obtained under Ethical clearance. The lumbar regions were dissected and the position of the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) and dimensions of Kambin's triangle were determined. Twenty-six black adult (>18 years) MRI scans (17 males; 9 females) were obtained from an Academic Hospital and were used to determine the dimensions of the neural foramen and the DRGs within. RESULTS: The ganglia were mostly at the midline of the caudal pedicle. Similar to previous studies, the diagonal measurement from Kambin's triangle was the largest and the vertical measurement the shortest. Skeletal and soft-tissue measurements indicated distinct trends when moving caudolaterally in the spine. Soft-tissue parameters from the current study were within the upper limits of those from previous studies, whereas skeletal parameters were in agreement with those reported by previous authors. CONCLUSIONS: Results from this study suggest a variation of certain parameters between studies with varying population groups and therefore supports the need for and the importance of possible population-specific trends of anatomical parameters considered during surgical procedures.