Lumbar plexus

Information about Lumbar plexus

*Nerve:*

Plan of lumbar plexus.

The lumbar plexus and its branches.
Latin	plexus lumbalis
	subject #212 949
From	L1-L4
MeSH	Lumbosacral+Plexus
Dorlands/Elsevier	p_24/12648073

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 nerve.

It is situated in the posterior part of the Psoas major, in front of the transverse processes of the lumbar vertebræ.

The mode in which the plexus is arranged varies in different subjects.

Branches

The lumbar plexus differs from the brachial plexus in not forming an intricate interlacement, but the several nerves of distribution arise from one or more of the spinal nerves, in the following manner: the first lumbar nerve, frequently supplemented by a twig from the last thoracic, splits into an upper and lower branch; the upper and larger branch divides into the iliohypogastric and ilioinguinal nerves; the lower and smaller branch unites with a branch of the second lumbar to form the genitofemoral nerve.

The remainder of the second lumbar nerve, and the third and fourth lumbar nerves, divide into ventral and dorsal divisions.

The ventral division of the second lumbar nerve unites with the ventral divisions of the third and fourth lumbar nerves to form the obturator nerve.

The dorsal divisions of the second and third nerves divide into two branches, a smaller branch from each uniting to form the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve, and a larger branch from each joining with the dorsal division of the fourth nerve to form the femoral nerve.

The accessory obturator, when it exists, is formed by the union of two small branches given off from the third and fourth nerves.

Mnemonic

One mnemonic used to remember this is "Interested in getting laid (or lunch) on Friday, Larry?"

Larger picture of lumbar plexus

Division	Name	Source	Target
Main	Iliohypogastric nerve	1 L.	Skin over the lateral gluteal region and above the pubis ^[1]
Main	Ilioinguinal nerve	1 L.	Skin over the root of the penis and upper part of the scrotum (male), skin covering the mons pubis and labium majus (female)
Main	Genitofemoral nerve	1, 2 L.	Cremaster muscle
Dorsal	Lateral femoral cutaneous	2, 3 L.	Skin on the lateral part of the thigh
Ventral	Obturator nerve (and Accessory obturator nerve, when present)	2, 3, 4 L.	Medial compartment of thigh
Dorsal	Femoral nerve	2, 3, 4 L.	Anterior compartment of thigh
Ventral	Lumbosacral trunk	4, 5L., 1, 2, 3, 4 S.	Sacral plexus

Additional images

The right sympathetic chain and its connections with the thoracic, abdominal, and pelvic plexuses.

References

1. ^ med.mun.ca

External links

Duke Orthopedics lumbar_plexus

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.

• • [ e] Nerves: spinal nerves
Cervical	anterior (Cervical plexus, Brachial plexus) - posterior (Posterior branches of cervical nerves, Suboccipital, Greater occipital, Third occipital)
Thoracic	anterior (Intercostal, Intercostobrachial - T2, Thoraco-abdominal nerves - T7-T11, Subcostal - T12) - posterior (Posterior branches of thoracic nerves)
Lumbar	anterior (Lumbar plexus, Lumbosacral trunk) - posterior (Posterior branches of the lumbar nerves, Superior cluneal nerves)
Sacral	anterior (Sacral plexus) - posterior (Posterior branches of sacral nerves, Medial cluneal nerves)
Coccygeal	anterior (Coccygeal plexus) - posterior (Posterior branch of coccygeal nerve)

• • [ e] Nerves of lower limbs and lower torso: the lumbosacral plexus
lumbar plexus	iliohypogastric - ilioinguinal - genitofemoral (femoral branch/lumboinguinal, genital branch) - lateral cutaneous of thigh (patellar) - obturator (anterior, cutaneous, posterior, accessory) - femoral (anterior cutaneous branches, saphenous)
sacral/coccygeal plexus	to quadratus femoris - to obturator internus - to the piriformis - superior gluteal - inferior gluteal - posterior cutaneous of thigh (inferior cluneal, perineal branches) sciatic: tibial (medial sural cutaneous, sural, medial calcaneal, medial plantar, lateral plantar) - common fibular (lateral sural cutaneous, deep fibular, superficial fibular, medial dorsal cutaneous, intermediate dorsal cutaneous)
pudendal plexus	perforating cutaneous - pudendal (dorsal of the penis/clitoris, inferior anal, perineal and posterior scrotal/labial) - anococcygeal
cutaneous innervation of the lower limbs

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
..... Click the link for more information.

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
..... Click the link for more information.

Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) is a huge controlled vocabulary (or metadata system) for the purpose of indexing journal articles and books in the life sciences. Created and updated by the United States National Library of Medicine (NLM), it is used by the MEDLINE/PubMed
..... Click the link for more information.

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.
..... Click the link for more information.

nerve plexus is a network of intersecting nerves. They combine sets of spinal nerves that serve the same area of the body into one large grouped nerve. There are several in the body, including:

Cervical plexus - serves the head, neck and shoulders

..... Click the link for more information.

In anatomy, lumbar is an adjective that means of or pertaining to the abdominal segment of the torso, between the diaphragm and the sacrum (pelvis). The five vertebrae in the lumbar region of the back are the largest and strongest in the movable part of the spinal column,
..... Click the link for more information.

The ventral ramus (anterior ramus, anterior branch, anterior divisions of the spinal nerves) supply the antero-lateral parts of the trunk, and the limbs; they are for the most part larger than the posterior divisions.
..... Click the link for more information.

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
..... Click the link for more information.

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.
..... Click the link for more information.

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:

..... Click the link for more information.

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.
..... Click the link for more information.

A plexus is a network. It has more specific meanings in multiple fields.

Biology

In biology it has multiple meanings.

Nervous system

In many animals the processes of neurons join together to form a plexus or nerve net.
..... Click the link for more information.

The Iliohypogastric Nerve is the superior branch of the anterior ramus of spinal nerve L1 (one of the lumbar nerves) after this nerve receives fibers from T12(subcostal nerve). The inferior branch is the ilioinguinal nerve.
..... Click the link for more information.

The ilioinguinal nerve, smaller than the iliohypogastric nerve, arises with it from the first lumbar nerve.

It emerges from the lateral border of the psoas major just below the iliohypogastric, and, passing obliquely across the quadratus lumborum and iliacus, perforates the
..... Click the link for more information.

In human anatomy, the genitofemoral nerve originates from the upper part of the lumbar plexus of spinal nerves. Its roots are L1 and L2 (lumbar).

It emerges on the anterior surface of the psoas major muscle and divides into two branches:

The femoral branch

..... Click the link for more information.

The lateral cutaneous nerve of the thigh (also called the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve) is a cutaneous nerve that innervates the skin on the lateral part of the thigh.

Structure

The lateral cutaneous nerve of the thigh is a nerve of the lumbar plexus.
..... Click the link for more information.

For the symbol of the erect penis, see phallus.

The penis (plural penises, penes) is an external sexual organ of certain biologically male organisms.
..... Click the link for more information.

In some male mammals, the scrotum is a protuberance of skin and muscle containing the testicles. It is an extension of the abdomen, and is located between the penis and anus.
..... Click the link for more information.

In human anatomy or in mammals in general, the mons pubis (Latin, pubic mound), also known simply as the mons, is the soft mound of flesh present in both sexes just above the genitals, raised above the surrounding area due to a pad of fat lying just beneath it
..... Click the link for more information.

The labia majora (singular: labium majus) are two prominent longitudinal cutaneous folds which extend downward and backward from the mons pubis to the perineum and form the lateral boundaries of the cleft of venus, which contains the labia minora, interlabial sulci,
..... Click the link for more information.

The femoral branch

..... Click the link for more information.

The cremaster muscle is a muscle that covers the testis.

Contraction

Its function is to raise and lower the scrotum in order to regulate the temperature of the testis and promote spermatogenesis.
..... Click the link for more information.

The lateral cutaneous nerve of the thigh (also called the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve) is a cutaneous nerve that innervates the skin on the lateral part of the thigh.

Structure

The lateral cutaneous nerve of the thigh is a nerve of the lumbar plexus.
..... Click the link for more information.

In humans the thigh is the area between the pelvis and buttocks and the knee. Anatomically, it is part of the lower limb.

The single bone in the thigh is called the femur.
..... Click the link for more information.

The obturator nerve arises from the ventral divisions of the second, third, and fourth lumbar nerves; the branch from the third is the largest, while that from the second is often very small.
..... Click the link for more information.

The Accessory Obturator Nerve is present in about 29 per cent. of cases.

It is of small size, and arises from the ventral divisions of the third and fourth lumbar nerves.
..... Click the link for more information.

The medial fascial compartment of thigh contains the hip adductors:

gracilis
pectineus
adductor brevis
adductor longus
adductor magnus

The obturator nerve supplies the hip adductors in this compartment.
..... Click the link for more information.

The femoral nerve, the largest branch of the lumbar plexus, arises from the dorsal divisions of the second, third, and fourth lumbar nerves. It descends through the fibers of the Psoas major, emerging from the muscle at the lower part of its lateral border, and passes down between
..... Click the link for more information.

This article is copied from an article on Wikipedia.org - the free encyclopedia created and edited by online user community. The text was not checked or edited by anyone on our staff. Although the vast majority of the wikipedia encyclopedia articles provide accurate and timely information please do not assume the accuracy of any particular article. This article is distributed under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License.

EnglishInfo

Lumbar plexus

Information about Lumbar plexus

Branches

Mnemonic

Additional images

References

External links

Posterior divisions

Posterior divisions

Location

Origin

Biology

Nervous system

Structure

Contraction

Structure

Search Dictionary