The thickness of the ligamentum flavum in relation to age and gender.

Hypertrophy of the ligamentum flavum (LF) can reduce the diameter of the spinal canal posteriorly. Such stenosis may significantly compress the dural sac and nerve roots, resulting in symptoms, even without a bulging anulus fibrosus or herniated nucleus pulposus. We conducted an anatomical study to determine the influence of age and gender on the thickness of the LF at the lower lumbar levels using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Influence of age and sex on lumbar vertebral morphometry determined using sagittal magnetic resonance imaging.

We evaluated age-related changes in the morphometric features of lumbar vertebrae in both sexes using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Midsagittal MRI scans of 366 individuals (156 males, 210 females; 25-82 years old) were evaluated retrospectively. The anterior height (H(a)), central height (H(c)), posterior height (H(p)), and anteroposterior diameter (D) of the body of each lumbar vertebra were measured.