Tan S, et al. - In this study, researchers assessed 60 candidates to estimate the prevalence of syndesmophytes in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) at the vertebral rim near the aorta. They noticed a variation in the syndesmophyte height and/or frequency with the distance of the sector to the aorta, with the lowest frequency as well as smallest mean syndesmophyte height at the sector along the rim nearest the aorta in the 180° region of the vertebral rim centered on the sector closest to the aorta. They observed syndesmophytes less prevalent in cases and at intervertebral disc space (IDS) where the aorta was anatomically confined to the vertebra. They did not find syndesmophytes in the sector closest to the aorta in cases whose aorta-vertebral distance was less than 2 mm. Although, syndesmophytes were progressively more prevalent among individuals whose aortas laid distant from the rim.