Background: The lumbosacral spine has an important role in spinal cord protection and maintaining the posture. Lumbosacral transitional vertebra (LSTV) is an anatomical variation of human spine. In LSTV, either the fifth lumbar vertebra may show assimilation with the sacrum (sacralisation), or the first sacral vertebra may show transition to a lumbar configuration (lumbarisation). Objective: The present study was conducted to determine the incidence of sacralisation on dry human adult sacra in North Maharashtra and to compare the findings with other studies. Material and Methods: The present study of sacralisation of fifth lumbar vertebra was carried out on 52 dry human adult sacra of known sex in the Department of Anatomy, ACPM Medical College, Dhule. This was an observational study over a period of six months from July 2016 to Dec 2016.The sacrum was examined to assess the sacralisation or lumbarisation and the findings were compared with other authors and correlated with Castellvi classification. Result: Sacralisation of fifth lumbar vertebra was noted in 4(7.7%) sacra and no lumbarisation of sacrum was found in our study. Out of 52 sacra, 40(76.9%) were male and 12(23.1%) were female. Complete sacralisation (50%) and incomplete sacralisation (50%) along with incomplete median cres. was observed in the present study Conclusion Increased incidence of sacralisation may lead to increased chances of low back pain, disc herniation, pseudoarthosis and compression of nerve roots. Hence knowledge of sacralisation is important for clinical anatomists, orthopedics, neurosurgeons, radiologists as well as anesthetists and physicians for diagnosing and operating the patients.

Keywords: Sacralisation; Lumbosacral Transitional Vertebra; Lumbarisation