STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective study. PURPOSE: Identification of transitional vertebra is important in spine imaging, especially in presurgical planning. Pasted images of the whole spine obtained using high-field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are helpful in counting vertebrae and identifying transitional vertebrae. Counting vertebrae and identifying transitional vertebrae is challenging in isolated studies of lumbar spine and in studies conducted in low-field MRI. An incorrect evaluation may lead to wrong-level treatment. Here, we identify the location of different anatomical structures that can help in counting and identifying vertebrae. OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE: Many studies have assessed the vertebral segments using various anatomical structures such as costal facets (CF), aortic bifurcation (AB), inferior vena cava confluence (IC), right renal artery (RRA), celiac trunk (CT), superior mesenteric artery root (SR), iliolumbar ligament (ILL) psoas muscle (PM) origin, and conus medullaris. However, none have yielded any consistent results. METHODS: We studied the locations of the anatomical structures CF, AB, IC, RRA, CT, SR, ILL, and PM in patients who underwent whole spine MRI at our department. RESULTS: In our study, 81.4% patients had normal spinal segmentation, 14.7% had sacralization, and 3.8% had lumbarization. Vascular landmarks had variable origin. There were caudal and cranial shifts with respect to lumbarization and sacralization. In 93.8% of cases in the normal group, ILL emerged from either L5 alone or the adjacent disc. In the sacralization group, ILL was commonly seen in L5. In the lumbarization group, ILL emerged from L5 and the adjacent disc (66.6%). CFs were identified at D12 in 96.9% and 91.7% of patients in the normal and lumbarization groups, respectively. The PM origin was observed from D12 or D12–L1 in most patients in the normal and sacralization groups. CONCLUSIONS: CF, PM, and ILL were good identification markers for D12 and L5, but none were 100% accurate.
Humans ; Ligaments ; Lumbar Vertebrae ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Mesenteric Artery, Superior ; Psoas Muscles ; Renal Artery ; Retrospective Studies ; Spinal Cord ; Spine* ; Vena Cava, Inferior

Using 16S rDNA gene sequencing technique, three different species of non-symbiotic bacteria of entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) (Steinernema sp. and Heterorhabditis sp.) were isolated and identified from infected insect cadavers (Galleria mellonella larvae) after 48-hour post infections. Sequence similarity analysis revealed that the strains SRK3, SRK4 and SRK5 belong to Ochrobactrum cytisi, Schineria larvae and Ochrobactrum anthropi,respectively. The isolates O. anthropi and S. larvae were found to be associated with Heterorhabditis indica strains BDU-17 and Yet-136, respectively, whereas O. cytisi was associated with Steinernema siamkayai strain BDU-87. Phenotypically, temporal EPN bacteria were fairly related to symbiotic EPN bacteria (Photorhabdus and Xenorhabdus genera). The strains SRK3 and SRK5 were phyrogeographically similar to several non-symbionts and contaminated EPN bacteria isolated in Germany (LMG331 IT) and China (X-14), while the strain SRK4 was identical to the isolates of S. larvae (L1/57, L1/58, L1/68 and L2/11) from Wohlfahrtia magnifica in Hungary. The result was further confuirmed by RNA secondary structure and minimum energy calculations of aligned sequences.This study suggested that the non-symbionts of these nematodes are phylogeographically diverged in some extent due to phase variation. Therefore, these strains are not host-dependent, but environment-specific isolates.