Pathology

Lumbosacral and Spinopelvic Anatomy and Pathology - L5 Pedicle

Lower Lumbar Spine Medial Border of the L5 Pedicle

Wolfgang Rauschning, M.D., Ph.D.
Research Professor, Clinical and Applied Anatomy and Pathology
Uppsala University Hospital
Uppsala, Sweden

 

Lower lumbar spine from a 45-year old woman through the medial border of the L5 pedicle
Lower lumbar spine from a 45–year–old woman. Section through the medial border of the L5 pedicle. The outer annular fibers of the L4–L5 and L5–S1 discs insert into the apophyseal ring of the vertebrae. The peripheral annular fibers run beyond these apophyses to merge with the perios– teum of the vertebral body. At L4–L5 the lower portion of the foramen is obliterated into a slit– shaped space, delimited anteriorly by the disc that inserts into the upper border of the pedicle, and posteriorly by the lateral expansion of the ligamentum flavum that also forms the capsule of the facet joint, also covering the anterior aspect of the superior articular process. Immediately below the pedicle the root sleeve is located. Note the large S1 ganglion in the funnel–shaped pelvine foramen of the sacrum.

©2000 Wolfgang Rauschning, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor of Clinical Anatomy
Academic University Hospital
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery
Uppsala, Sweden
Reproduction without permission is prohibited
http://www.akademiska.se/
Last Updated: 07/29/2004
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