A case series of synostosis/blocks observed in Indian human vertebra: Clinical and developmental perspective

Abstract

Not just anatomists but also clinicians from a variety of disciplines, including orthopedic doctors, surgeons, neurologists, and neurosurgeons, are interested in vertebral abnormalities. Numerous morphological anomalies, such as spinal synostosis, occipitalization, sacralization, and lumbarization, as well as the absence of the posterior vertebral arch, have been reported. Sequentially fused vertebral segments might result in spinal fusion, synostosis of the vertebrae, or blocked vertebrae. Movement limitations, early degenerative changes, and accompanying neurological abnormalities may all be brought on by the block vertebrae. The fusion may be whole or partial, acquired, or congenital. The cervical, lumbar, and thoracic vertebral levels are the most frequently affected by vertebral fusion, whether it is congenital or acquired. A systemic disorder, known as idiopathic diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH), is defined by distinctive ossification patterns that can run over at least three more vertebral levels or four successive vertebrae on their anterolateral aspect. Here, we present a series of spinal synostosis at various levels that were identified in museum specimens from our institution and that were associated with the clinical and developmental importance.