Lumbar enlargement

Lumbar enlargement
Diagrams of the medulla spinalis. (Cervical enlargement labeled at center right.)
Latin	intumescentia lumbosacralis
Gray's	subject #185 752

The lumbar enlargement (or lumbosacral enlargement) gives attachment to the nerves which supply the lower limbs.

It commences about the level of T11, and reaches its maximum circumference, of about 33 mm., at L1 (lumbar vertebra), below which it tapers rapidly into the conus medullaris.

An analogous region for the upper limbs exists at the cervical enlargement.

External links

• lesson6spinalcord&coverings at The Anatomy Lesson by Wesley Norman (Georgetown University)
• SUNY Labs 02:08-0102 - "Vertebral Canal and Spinal Cord: Regions of the Spinal Cord"
• Atlas of anatomy at UMich n3a5p3 - "Spinal Cord, Fetus, Posterior View"

This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained within it may be outdated.