Computed Tomography-Based Morphometric Analysis of Thoracic Pedicles: A Single-Centre Study from Moradabad, India

Abstract

Background: Thoracic pedicle morphology varies across vertebral levels and individuals, influencing the selection of screw dimensions and insertion trajectories during spinal instrumentation. Region-specific CT-based morphometric data remain limited.
Methods: This prospective cross-sectional study included 71 adults aged 20–60 years who underwent thoracic CT at a tertiary-care centre in Moradabad, India. Pedicle length (PL), transverse pedicle angle (TPA), transverse pedicle diameter (TPD) and sagittal pedicle diameter (SPD) were assessed from T1 to T12. Measurements were compared according to sex using the independent-samples t-test and across age groups using one-way analysis of variance.
Results: The participants had a mean age of 43.25 ± 12.16 years; 44 (62.0%) were male and 27 (38.0%) were female. The mean PL, TPA and TPD were 32.02 ± 2.12 mm, 27.15 ± 3.31° and 7.52 ± 0.96 mm, respectively. Mean SPD increased descriptively from 7.38 ± 0.68 mm at T1 to 15.43 ± 1.23 mm at T12. Males had greater PL (32.67 ± 1.75 vs. 30.96 ± 2.25 mm; p = 0.001) and TPD (7.83 ± 0.84 vs. 7.03 ± 0.95 mm; p < 0.001) than females, whereas TPA was comparable between the sexes (p = 0.591). SPD was greater in males at most thoracic levels, with significant differences from T2 through T10 and at T12. No age-group differences were observed in PL, TPA or TPD. Age-related differences in SPD were limited to T10 and T11.
Conclusion: Thoracic pedicle dimensions demonstrated vertebral level- and sex-related variation, whereas age-related differences were limited and inconsistent. These findings provide preliminary local morphometric data and support individualized CT assessment before thoracic pedicle instrumentation