Abstract
Purpose
This study aimed to determine the reliability of the iliolumbar ligament (ILL), 12th
costa, aortic bifurcation (AB), right renal artery (RRA), and conus medullaris (CM)
for numbering of vertebral segments.
Subjects and methods
Five hundred five patients underwent routine lumbar MRI examinations including a cervicothoracic
sagittal scout and T1 and T2-weighted sagittal and axial turbo spin echo images. Images
were evaluated by two radiologists separately.
Results
The identifiability of ILL and 12th costa were 85.7% and 48.1%. AB, RRA, and CM were
located more caudally in lumbarized S1 and more cranially in sacralized L5 cases.
Conclusion
Landmarks suggested by previous studies are not reliable alternatives to cervicothoracic
scout images due to wide ranges of distribution and inconsistencies in identification.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: May 12, 2014
Accepted:
May 2,
2014
Received in revised form:
April 10,
2014
Received:
February 15,
2014
Identification
Copyright
© 2014 Elsevier Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
