Extraforaminal lumbar arterial anatomy

BACKGROUND There are few studies carried out to reveal lumbar arterial anatomy. The studies of vascular anatomy of the lumbar zone are usually based on the angiographic imaging methods and barium injected radiographic sections of human specimens. METHODS Upon the recent breakthroughs in the microscopic anatomic dissections, the vascular structure of this zone is examined in 16 cadavers. Arterial anatomies of the extraforaminal zones of 80 lumbar vertebral objects were studied. RESULTS In each segment, lumbar artery, extraforaminal branches of the lumbar artery and the spinal (foraminal) branch were described. The spinal branch is originated from lumbar artery and extends as the dorsal branch. The dorsal branch is divided into 4 branches: ganglionic, transverse, ascending, and descending. Diameters of the lumbar artery, spinal, dorsal, and ganglionic branches were measured at each stage. The mean diameter of the lumbar artery was 2.7 mm, the dorsal branch was 2.0 mm, the foraminal branch was 1.9 mm, and the ganglionic branch was 1.0 mm, respectively. CONCLUSION Knowledge of lumbar arterial anatomy is needed for carrying out a successful surgical operation and reducing complications. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.