Let ∆ be a d-dimensional normal pseudomanifold, d ≥ 3. A relative lower bound for the number of edges in ∆ is that g 2 of ∆ is at least g 2 of the link of any vertex. When this inequality is sharp ∆ has relatively minimal g 2 . For example, whenever the one-skeleton of ∆ equals the one-skeleton of the star of a vertex, then ∆ has relatively minimal g 2 . Subdividing a facet in such an example also gives a complex with relatively minimal g 2 . We prove that in dimension three these are the only examples. As an application we determine the combinatorial and topological type of 3-dimensional ∆ with relatively minimal g 2 whenever ∆ has two or fewer singularities. The topological type of any such complex is a pseudocompression body, a pseudomanifold version of a compression body.Complete combinatorial descriptions of ∆ with g 2 (∆) ≤ 2 are due to Kalai [12] (g 2 = 0), Nevo and Novinsky [13] (g 2 = 1) and Zheng [21] (g 2 = 2). In all three cases ∆ is the boundary of a simplicial polytope. Zheng observed that for all d ≥ 0 there are triangulations of S d * RP 2 with g 2 = 3. She asked if this is the only nonspherical topology possible for g 2 (∆) = 3. As another application of relatively minimal g 2 we give an affirmative answer when ∆ is 3-dimensional.