Agenesis of the piriformis muscle: A case report with review of literature

Pankaj Nepal; Syed I Alam; Sadia Sajid; Syeda S Intakhab; Vijayanadh Ojili

doi:10.4102/sajr.v24i1.1838

Agenesis of the piriformis muscle: A case report with review of literature

SA J Radiol. 2020 Apr 16;24(1):1838. doi: 10.4102/sajr.v24i1.1838. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Pankaj Nepal¹, Syed I Alam², Sadia Sajid², Syeda S Intakhab³, Vijayanadh Ojili⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Radiology, St. Vincent's Medical Center, Bridgeport, United States.
² Department of Clinical Imaging, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
³ Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Puducherry, India.
⁴ Department of Radiology, University of Texas Health, San Antonio, United States.

Abstract

Agenesis of the piriformis muscle is an extremely rare occurrence. Knowledge about this anatomic variant is important because of its close proximity with the sciatic nerve and sacral plexus. The piriformis muscle also serves as an important anatomic landmark for image-guided intervention and hip surgery. We report a case of piriformis muscle agenesis in a 28-year-old woman, incidentally detected on magnetic resonance imaging of the lumbosacral spine and pelvis, performed for low back pain.

Keywords: MRI; agenesis; lower back pain; orthopaedics; piriformis muscle.

Publication types

Case Reports