Heggeness M H, Doherty B J
Institute for Spinal Disorders, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Tex 77030, USA.
South Med J. 1998 Feb;91(2):187-9. doi: 10.1097/00007611-199802000-00012.
Vertebral osteophytes are one of the principal radiographic diagnostic criteria for degenerative change in the lumbar spine. These osteophytes have been previously classified by morphologic features into two groups, the "traction spur" and the "claw spur." It has been stated that the traction spur is a sign of spinal instability.
Lumbar spines from 20 cadavers provided 120 vertebrae from T-11 to L-5 and 240 vertebral rims for study. The presence of osteophytes was determined by measurement with digital calipers. The type of osteophyte was then determined visually, using the Macnab classification.
Sixty vertebral rims were found to have significant osteophytes. Twenty-four vertebral rims had osteophytes of the claw type only, and 11 had osteophytes of the traction type only. Of the eight vertebrae with traction osteophytes alone and with the adjacent vertebra available for study, none had such a corresponding osteophyte.
Traction spurs and claw spurs frequently coexist on the same vertebral rim. This suggests that they may result from the same degenerative process and do not necessarily reflect the results of two distinct pathologic processes.
椎体骨赘是腰椎退变的主要影像学诊断标准之一。这些骨赘先前已根据形态学特征分为两组，即“牵引性骨赘”和“爪形骨赘”。据称牵引性骨赘是脊柱不稳定的征象。
从20具尸体的腰椎获取了从T-11至L-5的120个椎体及240个椎体边缘用于研究。通过数字卡尺测量确定骨赘的存在。然后使用Macnab分类法通过肉眼确定骨赘的类型。
发现60个椎体边缘有明显的骨赘。24个椎体边缘仅有爪形骨赘，11个椎体边缘仅有牵引性骨赘。在仅具有牵引性骨赘且有相邻椎体可供研究的8个椎体中，没有一个有相应的骨赘。
牵引性骨赘和爪形骨赘经常共存于同一椎体边缘。这表明它们可能源于相同的退变过程，不一定反映两种不同病理过程的结果。
