Morphological and Vascular Study Of The Posterior Lumbar Epidural Fat

Abstract

Posterior lumbar epidural fat has been described by several authors in various fields: Anesthetic, Radiology and Neurochemistry. In this study, we tried to describe the position of this fat in the lumbar canal (L1-L5), its vascularization and drainage system. 8 Ivorian cadavers are used for the practice of dissection in the laboratory. The anterior abdominal region is chosen for the approach of the lumbar epidural region. The study investigated the situation, morphology and microcirculatory structure of fat at the lumbar level. The fatty clusters were embedded in fine vessels and were better vascularized and drained by veins of large caliber. In the vertebral canal, the fat was struck in the intervertebral foramina and was simply spread on the anterior surface of the ligamentum flavum. The fat as triangular shape with a vertebral base and a foamy summit it wanders in the cerebrospinal fluid. The lumbar epidural fat is better vascularized, and its venous drainage is made by large veins facing the intervertebral foramina embedded in areolar tissue traversed by nerve roots.

Key Words: vertebral canal, fat, structure, vascularization.