Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Recent studies have shown that there are gender differences in many organs and tissues, as well as bone and nerve growth in the bone of human body. Moreover, gender differences may exist in some operations, such as knee joint replacement and elbow fracture treatment.
OBJECTIVE: To explore the gender differences in lumbar vertebral body.
METHODS: A total of 67 normal adults, comprising 35 males aged 20-51(39.4±4.3) years, and 32 females aged 19-52(41.2±5.6) years. Morphometric analysis was performed on T2-weighted midsagittal and transverse digital images. For each vertebral level between L1 to L5, the superior sagittal diameter Dn, the middle sagittal diameter Dm, the inferior sagittal diameter Dd, the anterior height Ha, central height Hc, and posterior height Hp were measured from the sagittal images of the lumbar spine. Three new height ratios of vertebral body shape were derived from these measurements: anterior height ratio (Ha/Dm), middle height ratio (Hm/Dm) and posterior height ratio (Hp/Dm). The areas of lumbar vertebral bodies were measured from the superior transverse images of every vertebral body.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The gender differences were significant: From L1 to L5, the area (S), the Dn, Dm, Dd, Ha, Hm, and Hp of male vertebral body was respectively greater than the female’s. But the Ha/Dm, Hm/Dm, Hp/Dm of female vertebral body was greater than the male’s.