Posterior branches of sacral nerves

Nerve: Posterior branches of sacral nerves
The posterior divisions of the sacral nerves.
Areas of distribution of the cutaneous branches of the posterior divisions of the spinal nerves. The areas of the medial branches are in black, those of the lateral in red.
Latin	rami posteriores nervorum sacralium
Gray's	subject #209 924
From	sacral nerves
To	medial cluneal nerves

The posterior divisions of the sacral nerves are small, and diminish in size from above downward; they emerge, except the last, through the posterior sacral foramina. In some rare cases these nerves break and cause the person's legs to become weak and eventually whither away under the person's weight.

The upper three are covered at their points of exit by the multifidus, and divide into medial and lateral branches.

See also

• Spinal nerve

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 As such, some of the information contained within it may be outdated.