Morphometric Analysis of Dry Typical Thoracic Vertebrae: A Cross sectional Study from Telangana, India

Introduction: Morphometric measurements of dry typical thoracic vertebrae play an important role clinically in managing scoliosis, performing laminectomies, guiding pedicle screw fixation, and in designing spinal implants or prostheses for traumatic injuries. A precise understanding of typical thoracic vertebral dimensions is essential when planning thoracic spine surgery. Most of the screw and implant sizes are derived from Caucasian data, and hence may not be appropriate for all populations. Therefore, developing region specific morphometric data for typical thoracic vertebrae is crucial. Aim: To establish the normative morphometry of typical thoracic vertebrae in the population of Telangana region to guide spinal instrumentation. Materials and Methods: The present cross sectional study involved 80 adult dry typical thoracic vertebrae collected from the Department of Anatomy, Mahavir Institute of Medical Sciences, Vikarabad, Telangana, India. The study was conducted from October 2024 to February 2025. Various parameters including dimensions of the vertebral body, diameter of the vertebral foramen, pedicle dimensions and angles, laminae dimensions and length of spinous process were measured using vernier callipers. The statistical analysis was performed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21. Range, Mean and standard deviations were calculated for all the parameters and Student’s t-test was performed to compare the right and the left-sides. Results: The mean transverse and anteroposterior diameters of the bodies were 31.49±3.35 mm and 22.05±3.53 mm, respectively. The vertebral foramen transverse and anteroposterior diameters were 15.61±1.34 mm and 13.75±1.26 mm, respectively. The transverse angle of the pedicle was 14.55±3.72° on the right side and 14.95±3.95° on the left-side. The sagittal angle of the pedicle was on the right-side 10.54±2.74° and 10.36±2.90° on the leftside. The mean laminar height and the thickness on the right-side were 21.03±2.42 mm and 06.18±1.06 mm, respectively and on the left-side were 20.96±2.09 mm and 06.35±1.03 mm, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference observed between the right & left-sides of the pedicle and laminar dimensions and also chord length as the p-value was more than 0.05. Hence, bilateral symmetry was observed. Conclusion: There were few variations observed in Telangana regional data collected in the current study namely transverse diameter of vertebral bodies, pedicle chord lengths, and sagittal and transverse angles were greater than in previous studies. These parameters are crucial for spinal surgeries and also the current study provides baseline data for the Telangana population that could help in improving instruments accuracy, reducing the risk of misplaced pedicle screws and neural injury.