Sacrum with five pairs of sacral openings as a pathognomonic symptom of lumbosacral transitional vertebrae

Clinical experience shows that during radiological examination of the pelvis, patients are often diagnosed with a sacrum with five pairs of sacral openings, while normally there should be four. Purpose: To which form of dysplasia should cases of diagnosis of the sacrum with five pairs of sacral openings be attributed. The clinical material for the study was the results of computed tomography of the lower lumbar spine and pelvic bones in 78 patients who were diagnosed with a sacrum with five pairs of sacral openings. The CT examination of the patients was carried out on a 128-slice «General Electric» device. The study established that the analyzed group of 78 patients was heterogeneous and consisted of two subgroups. Patients of the first subgroup (52 (66.7%) patients) had fused upper sacral vertebrae by transverse processes to the left and right of the sacral crest. Patients of the second subgroup (26 (33.3%) patients) had similar bone fusion of two upper sacral vertebrae on one side, there was no such concrescence on the contralateral side, and synchondrosis was clearly defined. The presence of such a bright radial symptom of sacral pathology as five pairs of sacral openings allows for timely diagnosis of cases of transitional lumbosacral vertebrae, informing patients about the nature of the disease, and, if necessary, prescribing therapy adequate to the severity of the condition.