Morphometric evaluation of sacrum volume in healthy women
Abstract
The aim of this study was to calculate volume of the sacrum, sacral canal, caudal
part of the epidural space, and dural sac volumes using stereological methods on magnetic
resonance images (MRIs). Material and Methods: We used MRI series of 50 healthy women (the
mean age; 44.0) in the study, retrospectively. Point counting and planimetry methods were used to
calculate the volumetric parameters on MRIs. Volume calculation was performed by placing the
dotted field ruler on MRI sections for point counting method, whereas ImageJ software was used
for planimetry method. Results: Sacrum volume was measured as 135.38 ± 24.12 cm3
using point
counting method, whereas it was 136.87 ± 24.76 cm3
in planimetry method. The mean volume of
sacral canal was determined as 10.11 ± 2.64 cm3
and 10.30 ± 2.73 cm3
using point counting and
planimetry methods, respectively. The mean volume of the caudal portion of the epidural space was
6.54 ± 2.04 cm3
in point counting method, whereas it was 6.53 ± 1.89 cm3
in planimetry method.
Discussion and Conclusion: Knowing the volume of sacrum would contribute to minimization
of complications during surgical approaches and anesthesia procedures in that region. Our results
showed that sacrum volume can be calculated accurately using stereological methods such as point
counting and planimetry.
