• Hongwei Wang, Kaixiang Li, Qingyun Wang, Xiaoqiang Liu, Xiangjun Zhao, Zhanghua Zhong, Changwei Gu, and Ruibing Li.
• Department of Spine Surgery, Dongguan Tungwah Hospital, Dongguan, China. Electronic address: dhyyspine@hotmail.com.
• World Neurosurg. 2021 Oct 1; 154: e54-e60.

BackgroundIn this study, the morphologic characteristics and anatomic position of the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) were measured and analyzed in healthy people using magnetic resonance neurography (MRN), which provided an anatomical reference for minimally invasive spinal surgery.MethodsFrom January 2018 to December 2019, 20 healthy adult volunteers (10 male and 10 female volunteers between 20 and 65 years old) were scanned and imaged by 3.0 T magnetic resonance imaging combined with neuroimaging technology. Here, the position of the DRG was located, and the shape and size of the DRG, as well as its distance to the upper pedicle, were measured.ResultsAll volunteers provided satisfactory MRN scans of the L1-S1 lumbar DRG. According to the spatial position of the DRG, the morphology of the DRG can be divided into the intervertebral foramen type (81.01%), intraspinal type (16.01%), extraforaminal type (0.8%), and mixed type (2.0%).ConclusionsThe intervertebral foramen type and Intraspinal type were observed to be the main distribution forms of lumbar DRG. Due to the downward movement of lumbar segments, the position of the DRG was noted to gradually move to the spinal canal while its volume gradually increased. In addition, the distance from the upper pedicle was found to decrease gradually. MRN imaging can clearly show the shape, location, and adjacent relationship of the DRG, providing effective imaging guidance for the minimally invasive lumbar techniques.Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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