Introduction:

Lumbar spinal canal stenosis is the progressive narrowing of spinal canal that causes compression of nerve roots.  Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is commonly used to assess patients with lumbar spinal canal stenosis. The aim of the study is to determine the normal sagittal and transverse diameter of the lumbar spinal canal and depth of the lateral recess in asymptomatic population by using MR imaging of the lumbosacral spine and to arrive at a reference lower limit of normal values at each level.

Materials and Methods:

This study was conducted on one hundred and five patients.  MRI scan was performed on 1.5 T scanner. Measurements were performed on T1–weighted and T2–weighted fast spin echo sequences in axial and sagittal planes.

Results:

In our studynarrowest mid sagittal diameter was at L4–L5 (10.9 mm) in males and L5–S1 (10.8 mm) females. There is no significant difference noted in the mid sagittal diameter and transverse diameter between males and females. Lateral recess depths showed a significant difference between the two groups at L2–L3 on right side and L4–L5 on left side.

Conclusion:

The mean values for the normal spinal canal diameters (SCD) and lateral rescess depth in our population are similar to data from other literature.