lumbar nerves

Information about lumbar nerves

Nerve:
Areas of distribution of the cutaneous branches of the posterior divisions of the spinal nerves. The areas of the medial branches are in black, those of the lateral in red.
Plan of lumbar plexus.
Latinnervi lumbales
subject #209 924
Dorlands/Elsevier n_05/12566109
The lumbar nerves are the five spinal nerves emerging from the lumbar vertebrae. They are divided into posterior and anterior divisions.

Posterior divisions

The medial branches of the posterior divisions of the lumbar nerves run close to the articular processes of the vertebræ and end in the Multifidus.

The lateral branches supply the Sacrospinalis.

The upper three give off cutaneous nerves which pierce the aponeurosis of the Latissimus dorsi at the lateral border of the Sacrospinalis and descend across the posterior part of the iliac crest to the skin of the buttock, some of their twigs running as far as the level of the greater trochanter.

Anterior divisions

The anterior divisions of the lumbar nerves (rami anteriores) increase in size from above downward.

They are joined, near their origins, by gray rami communicantes from the lumbar ganglia of the sympathetic trunk.

These rami consist of long, slender branches which accompany the lumbar arteries around the sides of the vertebral bodies, beneath the Psoas major.

Their arrangement is somewhat irregular: one ganglion may give rami to two lumbar nerves, or one lumbar nerve may receive rami from two ganglia.

The first and second, and sometimes the third and fourth lumbar nerves are each connected with the lumbar part of the sympathetic trunk by a white ramus communicans.

The nerves pass obliquely outward behind the Psoas major, or between its fasciculi, distributing filaments to it and the Quadratus lumborum.

The first three and the greater part of the fourth are connected together in this situation by anastomotic loops, and form the lumbar plexus.

The smaller part of the fourth joins with the fifth to form the lumbosacral trunk, which assists in the formation of the sacral plexus.

The fourth nerve is named the nervus furcalis, from the fact that it is subdivided between the two plexuses.

Additional images


The lumbar plexus and its branches.


External links

This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated. Please edit the article if this is the case, and feel free to remove this notice when it is no longer relevant.
Spinal nerves
ventral root - dorsal root - dorsal root ganglion - cauda equina - gray ramus communicans - white ramus communicans suboccipital posterior divisions: cervical (greater occipital, third occipital) - thoracic - lumbar - sacral - coccygeal anterior divisions: cervical plexus - brachial plexus - thoracic nerves: (intercostal - intercostobrachial - subcostal) - lumbosacral plexus
The lumbar plexus is a nervous plexus in the lumbar region of the body. It is formed by the loops of communication between the anterior divisions of the first three and the greater part of the fourth lumbar nerves; the first lumbar often receives a branch from the last thoracic
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Latin}}} 
Official status
Official language of: Vatican City
Used for official purposes, but not spoken in everyday speech
Regulated by: Opus Fundatum Latinitas
Roman Catholic Church
Language codes
ISO 639-1: la
ISO 639-2: lat
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Elsevier, the world's largest publisher of medical and scientific literature, forms part of the Reed Elsevier group. Based in Amsterdam, the company has substantial operations in the UK, USA and elsewhere.
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The term spinal nerve generally refers to the mixed spinal nerve, which is formed from the dorsal and ventral roots that come out of the spinal cord. The spinal nerve is the bit that passes out of the vertebrae through the intervertebral foramen.
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The lumbar vertebrae are the largest segments of the movable part of the vertebral column, and are characterized by the absence of the foramen transversarium within the transverse process, and by the absence of facets on the sides of the body.
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The multifidus (multifidus spinae : pl. multifidi ) muscle consists of a number of fleshy and tendinous fasciculi, which fill up the groove on either side of the spinous processes of the vertebrae, from the sacrum to the axis.
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The Erector spinæ (or Sacrospinalis in older texts), a bundle of muscles and tendons, and its prolongations in the thoracic and cervical regions, lie in the groove on the side of the vertebral column.
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The latissimus dorsi (plural: latissimi dorsi) is the large, flat, dorso-lateral muscle on the trunk, posterior to the arm, and partly covered by the spinotrapezius on its median dorsal region.
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The crest of the ilium (or iliac crest) is convex in its general outline but is sinuously curved, being concave inward in front, concave outward behind.

It is thinner at the center than at the extremities, and ends in the anterior and posterior superior iliac spines.
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The greater trochanter (great trochanter) of the femur is a large, irregular, quadrilateral eminence, situated at the junction of the neck with the upper part of the body.

It is directed a little lateralward and backward, and, in the adult, is about 1 cm.
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Each spinal nerve receives a branch, gray ramus communicans, from the adjacent ganglion of the sympathetic trunk.

They contain unmyelinated postganglionic sympathetic fibers.
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The lumbar portion of the sympathetic trunk typically has 4 lumbar ganglia. The lumbar splanchnic nerves arise from the ganglia here, and contribute sympathetic efferent fibers to the nearby plexuses.

The first two lumbar ganglia have both white and gray rami communicantes.
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The sympathetic trunk (sympathetic chain, gangliated cord) is a bundle of nerve fibers that runs from the base of the skull to the coccyx. There are two sympathetic trunks in the body, a right one and a left one.
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The lumbar arteries are in series with the intercostals.

They are usually four in number on either side, and arise from the back of the aorta, opposite the bodies of the upper four lumbar vertebræ.
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The Psoas major is a long fusiform muscle placed on the side of the lumbar region of the vertebral column and brim of the lesser pelvis.

Location

Origin

It arises:

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Rami is the plural of ramus - a branch, as of a plant, nerve, or blood vessel.
  • Rami is originally an Arabic name derived from the verb "to throw" and therefore it means "the one who throws -(arrows)" i.e. archer.

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ganglion (pl. ganglia) is a tissue mass, which is composed mainly of somata and dendritic structures, which often interconnect with each other to form a complex system of ganglia known as a plexus.
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The thoracic, and the first and second lumbar nerves each contribute a branch, white ramus communicans to the adjoining sympathetic ganglion.

They contain myelinated preganglionic sympathetic fibers (GVE and GVA).
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The Psoas major is a long fusiform muscle placed on the side of the lumbar region of the vertebral column and brim of the lesser pelvis.

Location

Origin

It arises:

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Fasciculus can refer to:
  • nervous tissue
  • Arcuate fasciculus
  • Dorsal longitudinal fasciculus

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The Quadratus lumborum is irregularly quadrilateral in shape, and broader below than above.

Origin and insertion

It arises by aponeurotic fibers from the iliolumbar ligament and the adjacent portion of the iliac crest for about 5 cm.
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The lumbar plexus is a nervous plexus in the lumbar region of the body. It is formed by the loops of communication between the anterior divisions of the first three and the greater part of the fourth lumbar nerves; the first lumbar often receives a branch from the last thoracic
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The lumbosacral trunk is nervous tissue that connects the lumbar plexus with the sacral plexus.

Structure

The lumbosacral trunk comprises the whole of the anterior division of the fifth and a part of that of the fourth lumbar nerve; it appears at the medial margin of the
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In human anatomy, the sacral plexus is a nerve plexus emerging from the sacral vertebrae (S1-S4), and which provides nerves for the pelvis and lower limbs.

Composition

The sacral plexus is formed by::
  • the lumbosacral trunk

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Memorial University of Newfoundland, (popularly known as Memorial University or "MUN") is a comprehensive university located primarily in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.
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eMedicine is an online clinical medical knowledge base that was founded in 1996 by Scott Plantz and Richard Lavely, two medical doctors. It was sold to WebMD in January 2006.
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Public domain comprises the body of knowledge and innovation (especially creative works such as writing, art, music, and inventions) in relation to which no person or other legal entity can establish or maintain proprietary interests within a particular legal jurisdiction.
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Henry Gray's Anatomy of the Human Body (or Gray's Anatomy as it has commonly been shortened) is an English-language human anatomy textbook widely regarded as a classic work on the subject.
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The term spinal nerve generally refers to the mixed spinal nerve, which is formed from the dorsal and ventral roots that come out of the spinal cord. The spinal nerve is the bit that passes out of the vertebrae through the intervertebral foramen.
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