Abstract: In order to determine whether the Rhesus monkey is suitable for lumbar spine animal research, 7 adult health Rhesus monkeys were examined with X-ray and MRI. The heights of intervertebral spaces were measured on the X-ray films. The morphologic parameters of the vertebras were measured directly from 5 Rhesus monkeys’lumbar skeleton specimens and the intervertebral discs of 2 lumbar spines were observed histologically. It was showed that the variation features of Rhesus monkey’s intervertebral space height and the histological structure of discs were consistent with those of human. The variation features of the vertebral and spine canal’s width and depth were similar between the two species. The inferior lumbar regions of two species （L5-7 in Rhesus monkey and L3-5 in human） were most similar. There were, however,substantial differences between the two species on the number, height and size of vertebras as well as the physiological curvature.

Key words: Comparative Study, Lumbar Spine, Rhesus Monkey, Human Being