Comparative Morphometry of L4 Vertebrae

Abstract

When posterior pedicle instrumentation is part of a testing protocol, the increased pedicle angle and lack of vertebral body depth found in all animals studied must be kept in mind. In addition, when testing interbody cages designed to stabilize the spine and promote fusion, one must be aware of the decreased vertebral body depth and width in these animals, as compared with humans. Physeal defects in the immature pig may alter specific biomechanical results during failure or fatigue testing, or in basic studies of vertebral bone material properties. In all cases, instrumentation and hardware must be sized appropriately to the selected model to provide meaningful results.