Anatomy

Lumbar Spine Anatomy

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Lumbar Spine Anatomy, L-Spine Anatomy, Lumbar Spine, Lumbosacral Spine

  • See Also
  1. Low Back Exam
  2. Spine Anatomy
  3. Cervical Spine Anatomy
  4. Spinal Cord Anatomy
  5. Musculoskeletal Anatomy
  6. Thoracolumbar Trauma
  1. See Spine Anatomy
  2. Components
    1. Spinal cord terminates at L1-L2 in the adult
    2. Lumbosacral nerve roots comprise cauda equina
  3. Lumbar Nerve Course
    1. Disc disease affects nerve exiting one level below
      1. Nerve passes over the affected disc
    2. Example
      1. L4-5 disc Herniation affects L5 nerve
      2. Contrast with C-Spine Anatomy (C1-7 exit above its associated cervical disc)
  • Anatomy
  • Columns (Denis)
  1. See Spinal Cord Anatomy
  2. Anterior column
    1. Anterior longitudinal ligament (ALL)
    2. Vertebral body (anterior 2/3)
    3. Intervertebral disc (anterior 2/3)
  3. Middle column
    1. Vertebral body (posterior 1/3)
    2. Intervertebral disc (anterior 1/3)
    3. Posterior longitudinal ligament (PLL)
  4. Posterior Column (posterior to PLL)
    1. Pedicles
    2. Facet joints
    3. Laminae
    4. Spinous processes
    5. Interconnecting ligaments
  5. Imaging Resources
    1. Three column concept of spinal Fractures (Worsley, 2025, Radiopaedia)
      1. https://radiopaedia.org/articles/three-column-concept-of-spinal-fractures
  1. LumbarSpineInCrossSection.gif
  2. LumbarSpineAnatomyVertebra.gif
  3. LumbarSpineAnatomyDisc.gif
  4. orthoLegLumbarDorsalFasciaGrayBB388.gif Lewis (1918) Gray's Anatomy 20th ed (in public domain at Yahoo or BartleBy)
  5. orthoSpineVertebraeLumbarGrayBB93.gif Lewis (1918) Gray's Anatomy 20th ed (in public domain at Yahoo or BartleBy)
  6. orthoSpineVertebraeLumbar5GrayBB94.gif Lewis (1918) Gray's Anatomy 20th ed (in public domain at Yahoo or BartleBy)
  7. orthoSpineVertebraeLumbarLateralXsGrayBB301.gif Lewis (1918) Gray's Anatomy 20th ed (in public domain at Yahoo or BartleBy)
  8. orthoSpineVertebraeLumbarLateralGrayBB92.gif Lewis (1918) Gray's Anatomy 20th ed (in public domain at Yahoo or BartleBy)