What is the most likely diagnosis?
- 41 year-old with back pain
Lateral Lumbar Spine Radiograph
- Degenerative Disc Disease
- Spinal TB
- Spondylolytic Spondylolisthesis
- Metastatic Malignancy
- Laminectomy Defect
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Answer:
3. Spondylolytic Spondylolisthesis
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Spondylolytic Spondylolisthesis
General Considerations
- Normally the inferior articulating fact of each lumbar vertebral body lies posterior to the superior articulating facet of the body below it
- If the bony connection between the inferior and superior articulating facets (pars interarticularis) is defective, the weight of the body may cause the upper vertebra, including all of the vertebral bodies above it, to slip forward for varying amounts on the body below (spondylolisthesis)
- The defect in the pars interarticularis is called spondylolysis
- Spondylolysis is not present at birth but increases in frequency with increasing age