Perfusion and bone mineral density as function of vertebral level at lumbar spine.

The objective of this study is to characterize perfusion and bone mineral density (BMD) in the lumbar spine as a function of level and anatomic location. Fourteen male subjects with healthy vertebral endplates were selected to avoid gender and endplate disease influence. The bone perfusion and BMD of different vertebral level (L1-L4) were measured by the dynamic contrast enhancement MRI (DCE MRI) and the dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) respectively. Perfusion parameters showed a significant negative correlation with upper to lower vertebral levels while inverse observation was found for BMD. The results indicated that the perfusion and BMD are as function of vertebral level and anatomic location at lumbar spine. The BMD varying with vertebral level may be determined by the biomechanical usage at the lumbar spine, where the lower levels sustain more mechanical forces. Perfusion changes along the lumbar spine level suggested that the bone marrow component could be different when BMD varies, which needs further histological verification.