, interposing between the 12 thoracic vertebrae and the 5 sacral vertebrae.Starting from the apex, the vertebral column can be divided into 5 segments (or tracts): the cervical segment, the thoracic, the lumbar, the sacral and the coccygeal; The vertebral column is composed of 33-34 overlapping irregular bones, called vertebrae, which are separated from each other by a thin structure of fibrocartilage called the intervertebral disc; Of the 33-34 vertebrae making up the rachis, 7 belong to the cervical tract, 12 to the thoracic tract, 5 to the lumbar tract, 5 to the sacral tract and 4/5 to the coccygeal tract; Although their specific anatomy varies in relation to the spinal tract considered, all vertebrae have:
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The lumbar vertebrae are the widest and strongest vertebrae in the spine, this is because they have the important task of supporting most of the body weight that rests on the back.
Identified by the capital letter L and a number from 1 to 5 depending on the cranio-caudal positioning, the lumbar vertebrae represent the section of the vertebral column at which the spinal cord ends (between the first and second lumbar vertebrae) and begins the cauda equina.
The lumbar vertebrae can be subject to various medical conditions, including sciatica due to L4 or L5 radiculopathy, lumbar spondylolysis, and lumbar spondylolisthesis.
- It runs vertically through the center of the back;
- It constitutes the backbone of the human body;
- It houses and protects the spinal cord (which, with the brain, makes up the central nervous system).
- A cuboid-shaped element in a ventral position, called the vertebral body;
- An arched formation in the dorsal position, called the vertebral arch;
- A hole between the arch and the body, whose name is vertebral hole;
- A prominence in the center of the outer edge of the arch, called the spinous process;
- A prominence on each external side of the vertebral arch, called the transverse process.
Shutterstock , before their exit from the rachis.
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