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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.
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©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/
